Stages and Changes
by Demon Girl Lee
Summary: After completing the first phase of a mission in the Makai Territory, Hiei falls ill and undergoes an unbelievable transformation. With only you and Kurama to tend to the new Hiei, what lies in store for the famous Fire Demon? Please Review for each chap!
1. Chapter 1, The Misssion

WARNING: Not responsible for any cases of shortness of breath, constipation, heart attack, blindness, AIDS, cancer, deftness, ADD, ADHA, loss of erection, stunting of growth, broken bones, dry skin, water eyes, thinness of blood, dyslexia, loss of hair/baldness, death due to shock, loss of bladder control, premarital sex, an erection that lasts more then 4 to 7 hours, heat stroke, gas/flatulence, D.U.I, Murder, herpes, sleep deprivation, nausea, a sudden urge to dance like a white guy, heart burn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea, crabs, yeast infections, warts, acne, pimples, zits, puberty, unexpected pregnancies, and any other sexually transmitted diseases.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the YYH characters mentioned here because they belong to Yoshihiro Togashi-sama.

I own nothing, but the non-YYH characters mentioned and the all around plot. Everything else is strictly borrowed for mere entertainment.

Well this is the beginning of a new and great (at least I think it's great) Fic. This will be a very different fic in that it does not survive off of suspense of drama, as my other fics do. This is more of a comic relief fic, one that make the read go Awww.  Was the reaction my test readers gave. There were two females and one male and they both thought that the concept was "cute" and "addictive" so I hope all of you enjoy it too. This story does involve an original character of mine. It is the female from my other fic _The Scarred,_ just because it is easier to write with a familiar role. I never mention her name for two reasons, I have yet to think of a creative name and most readers enjoy the feeling of imagining that they are the character and as such, a part of the story. I will try to use this format until a good name arises. Please be aware that the first chapter of any of my fics is very hard to get through. I am sure you will like the others though! ~^_^~

Enjoy!

Stages and Changes!

~Cue Theme song! ~

It was a standard covert mission within demon world. Koenma had divided the team into two groups: One group would be responsible for invading the fortress and weakening its bases and pull out to allow the second group to take down the three beings in charge. The entire mission should have taken three weeks. Group one consisting Kurama, Hiei, and yourself, worked quickly and completed phase one within the first week. They were taking down an undercover corporation that was working in conjunction to the black market. The job seemed to be progressing quite well. They returned to their headquarters, a simple building, where they met up with Yusuke and Kuwabara. After relaying the necessary information, the two groups were again divided. Hiei let his body fall onto the couch and Kurama left the room, only to return a minute later with supplies under his arm.

"I might as well treat our wounds as we wait for confirmation," spoke Kurama as he sorted through the bandages and creams.

There was a long moment of silence. Kurama continued to bandage Hiei's arms, but he had no reaction. Everyone in the room was quiet; perhaps no one had enough energy to speak. They all had pushed their limits to complete their part in the mission. Kurama finished with Hiei's wound, stood and crossed the room. He gently shook your shoulder and your eyes peeled open. You blinked a few time before you knew what the fox wanted from you. You stood and removed the top half or your cheongsam robe, (It's sort of like what Kurama usually wears) leaving you fully exposed from the abdomen up. Although Kurama had not expected this forward reaction, he proceeded to treat the medium sized gash. The action in itself for you was an innocent one and you had no intention or idea of the possible misconceptions or interpretations. To you, it was just another body part, like your arm or leg. Kurama understood that because of your scarred past, you did not understand what some of your actions might mean. When he finished, you replaced your tattered clothes.

"Kurama, how are your own wounds?" you ask as you finish tying the sash around your waist.

"My leg is fine," the demon smiled, "It stopped bleeding before we even returned."

After he finishes cleaning out his own wound, you helped him to collect the soiled and bloody bandages and cloths. Afterwards, there was nothing much else to do but wait.

"I don't understand how the detective and the idiot could stand waiting here for a week when they have shorter attention spans then our own." mumbled Hiei as he shifted positions on the couch to get more comfortable.

"You do have a good point." replied the fox, "Now we will have to wait for the others to return before we can leave demon world and go back home."

Hiei's eyes opened again, "I don't mind being in demon world, I'd prefer it, but I can't stand waiting for them to finish and I do nothing the whole time."

"I am beginning to think that you are just jealous that they get to kill the people in charge and we had to do all of the hard work." you smile a little.

"Hn." and Hiei went back to closing his eyes.

"Now that I think of it, I haven't felt this weak in a while." you bend and flex you fingers and hands in front of your face, "I hadn't realized how difficult this mission would be."

"Yes," agreed the Fox, "That was something I too did not expect. I am beginning to think that there was information about that place that we were not told. Why were they protecting it so much?"

"Pif, you are both pathetic. That was nothing compared to what I am capable of." boasted the koorime.

"That's funny because, right now you look the most tired of us all,"

The demon throws you a dirty glare and you are again silent. The silence is only broke by the sound and vibrations of the communicator on the table in the middle of the room.

~~ Running in a crowd in a faceless town I need to feel the touch of a friend. On the countryside….~~

The three of you dive to answer it.

Kurama flips it open.

Both you and Hiei silently curse yourselves for having shorter arms.

"Ah, Kurama, it's so good to see that you and the others are well. I am contacting you to see how your part of the mission went."

"Well, we were successful in elimination of the enemy posts to the west and north, and found that there was also on to the east. Everything has been done according to plan. The detonators have been placed in accordance to the ones described on the blue prints, and are ready for detonation whenever Yusuke and Kuwabara-kun are finished."

"Good, they should be just reaching that location right about now, so you should be scheduled to leave within the next one to two weeks. Pending then, hold your position, until the others have returned. When this is over, you can all return for quick examinations"

"Oh, Koenma your squid is ready!"

"Shut up Ogre, I'm busy…"

"Uh, Kurama, I have to go now, very important work is left to be done."

"Yes Lord Koenma.," Kurama sweat dropped as he closed the communicator.

"So, basically we are back to where we were in the beginning." spat Hiei.

"I suppose so." replied the Fox

"This is ridiculous! I am not waiting here for those idiots!" with that, Hiei rose and grabbed his cloak.

"Hiei, you can't leave yet…." Kurama tried to say

"Says who? That brat in Spirit World? He doesn't know what he's doing!" yelled Hiei

"Hiei, what if the others need you?" you question standing up as well.

"The detective and the Idiot don't need any one! Even if they did, you would be able to handle them yourself! I am not needed here, so I'm leaving." shouted Hiei.

"Hiei, wait," Kurama called out as Hiei ran to the door.

All of a sudden, Hiei felt a lump in his throat and his legs stopped with his back facing the others. He didn't move for a moment.

You take a step forward, "Hiei… are you ok?"

Hiei fought to move his hand to the door handle and it was shaking mid air. His vision was blurred and the sounds he heard were distorted. He tried to focus, but slowly his eyes rolled back and…

"Hiei!" Kurama rushed to catch the falling body of his teammate, "Hiei, wake up. Hiei can you hear me?

The Jagan atop his head frantically darted left and right trying to realize what happened and then seemed to just darken and dull and finally started to close all together.

You were by his side instantly. "Kurama, he burning!"

"Yes, I know, this does not bode well. I'll take him to the beds; you go get ice water and a towel." Kurama ordered.

You nod and rush to get what's needed.

Kurama looks down on the smaller demon, "Hiei."

Saying nothing else he slides his arms underneath the demon to lift him. He carefully carries the smaller to the room where there are four small beds and lays him on the closest one. You return with everything and place it on the table to the left.

"What do you think is wrong with him." you ask.

"I'm not sure, but this fever is not natural, not even for a demon. This is a secondary autoimmune response, so what ever it is, it is progressing rapidly and is not going to be easy to get rid of."

"So is there nothing we can do?"

"All we can try to control right now is his body temperature." replied the fox standing and placing the cool cloth on the small demon's brow.

"Fine."

You look at the demon on the bed and you feel a small pang of sympathy. You decide to get to work and to do your best. Your nimble hands quickly snatch away Hiei's katana and place it aside. Next you untie and remove his cloak only to place it where the katana sits. For a moment, memories flash back to you of your encounter with Hiei after you were captured. He was harsh and cruel, but nonetheless you owe your existence to him.

For hours the both of you took turns and watched the unmoving body. Around twelve o'clock, Hiei's condition began to worsen. His body temperature shot up and every so often the nerves of his skin would twitch. His body was drenched with perspiration. Sitting by his side, you wipe the hair that was sticking to his forehead and replace to cool cloth.

"It's progressing," you say as Kurama enters the room for his own shift.

Kurama looks distressed, "He won't last much longer if he remains in this state."

Seeing Kurama like this made you feel a little panicky yourself, "There is no other choice then." Straddling Hiei's limp body, you begin to tear away at his shirt. After it's off, you move down to the three belts above his waist. For a moment you struggle with undoing them all, but you manage and you begin to pull off the soaked black pants. Kurama helps you and when you realize that Hiei does not have anything underneath the pants, you hold back a blush.

"Follow me!" you order as Kurama once again picks up Hiei, this time without any clothes on.

You lead the Fox and the unconscious one to the bathroom. You kneel and turn the handle to its coldest setting and water begins to shoot from the tap. You stand and leave the room.

"Quick in the tub!" you call as you fumble with another container.

Kurama obeys and places Hiei into the water. You return with a pot full of ice and you quickly dump its contents into the water.

Your eyes meet Kurama's and you both notice the worry in each other's eyes, "This is our only chance to help him."

Slowly the night drew on and on. You constantly brought more ice to the tub until there was no more and Kurama had to keep draining and filling the water in the tub because Hiei's fever would heat it up to an inhuman temperature. It was late morning before it was safe to remove Hiei's body from the water. Finally, he stabilized and the two of you could at last exhale after holding your breath the entire time. Kurama redressed his wounds and you pulled the covers over his nude body.

"I am getting this bad sensation that this is far from over." you say

"As do I."

You both give Hiei some privacy to sleep and you walk downstairs to the main room. Kurama makes some tea and you curl yourself into a ball on the window sill. The Fox hands you a cup and the warmth of the ceramic startles you, thinking again about Hiei's episode. You rest your forehead onto the glass. The day is darker then it normally is, even though it is Demon World. The clouds are so heavy with rain; they seem to hang lower in the skies.

"I am not very acquainted to Demon World. It always has this ominous feeling that makes me uneasy." you say just to break the silence.

"You grow accustomed to it I suppose, but most people who grow up here do tend to be paranoid and live more off of instinct than thought process." acknowledged Kurama.

After checking Hiei one last time, you both go into the entrance room. Kurama casually sits on the couch and you sit to the left of the door, on the floor. From where you both are, you can hear the soft fall and gentle sound of the rain from outside. It's a soothing sound that lulls you into a false sense of security and sleep.

S.l..o…w….l…..l…….y, t….i..m…e….. p...a…..s…s….e…..s………. b…..y……….

~gasp!~

Your body leaps up and you immediately take a defensive pose. Realizing you are not being attacked, you shake your head and try to focus. Rubbing the sleep from your eyes, you try to think of what time it is.

"Oh my gods, how long were we sleeping…" you mumble, "Kurama…"

You shake the comatose body on the couch, calling the Fox's name. Suddenly, he has you by the neck, pinned between his body and the couch. You hadn't even time to blink.

"Oh! It's you! I am so sorry!" Kurama instantly released you. You try to sit up and rub your throat.

"I told you this place is making us all a little jumpy." you say as you stand up and follow the Fox into the kitchen.

Kurama stopped and his ears twitched for a moment.

"What is it?" you question.

"I'm not sure."

Suddenly, you realize that you did not wake up without a reason. Something else woke you up. That sensation returns to you and you feel the hair on the back of your neck rise.

You look at the Fox for a moment, then dash to the stairs, "Hiei!" You falter on the stairs and curse your lack of mobility because of drowsiness. Kurama agilely is ably to beat you to Hiei's room and you both burst through the door. The bed appears empty with the sheets draw to the opposite side.

"Where… did…where did he go?" you manage out.

The fox took a step forward, "He has not left yet; I can still sense his faint energy signal."

You follow him and both look onto the ground, beside the bed. Your hands clasp around you mouth and Kurama cannot hold his own gasp.

"Hiei, what has happened to you!?"

~cue end theme!~

Cliffhanger on the first chapter, yes, I am ashamed of myself. Yay, I did chapter one in one night! I hope you enjoy this very different fic. Well, it is very different for me at least. I am trying to widen my repertoire by using a slightly different style of writing. It may not seem so, but it is very difficult to write stories, so I hope that you all enjoy reading them, so that I know that the product is worth the labor. Please review! Tune in to find out what this crazy authoress has done to poor Hiei!

-Your Humble Authoress

Jessie Lee


	2. Chapter 2, The Transformation

WARNING: Not responsible for any cases of shortness of breath, constipation, heart attack, blindness, AIDS, cancer, deftness, ADD, ADHA, loss of erection, stunting of growth, broken bones, dry skin, water eyes, thinness of blood, dyslexia, loss of hair/baldness, death due to shock, loss of bladder control, premarital sex, an erection that lasts more then 4 to 7 hours, heat stroke, gas/flatulence, D.U.I, Murder, herpes, sleep deprivation, nausea, a sudden urge to dance like a white guy, heart burn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea, crabs, yeast infections, warts, acne, pimples, zits, puberty, unexpected pregnancies, and any other sexually transmitted diseases.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the YYH characters mentioned here because they belong to Yoshihiro Togashi-sama.

I own nothing, but the non-YYH characters mentioned and the all around plot. Everything else is strictly borrowed for mere entertainment.

~Cue Opening Theme Song!~

"This cannot really be happening, can it?"

Kurama could not bring himself to look away, "It has and I fear there is no way to ignore the facts."

Tangled in bed linens, Hiei sat there, wide-eyed, with a look on his face that could shatter glass. He was frozen in place and did not move a muscle. The worst had happened; he had been caught.

Without thinking, you kneel in front of the small body, "Hiei, is that really you?"

Realizing his situation and understanding the humiliation, Hiei turned away the best that he could and his little body started to shake.

You look back at Kurama, "What is wrong with him?"

Astounded, the Fox replied, "Impossible. I think he is… he is crying."

You look back and realize the soft whimpering sound coming from the little demon. Risking loosing a limb, or even your life, you reach forward and touch his little arm. Hiei could not take much more and finally ruptured into a full out cry.

"Uh.. What do we do?!" you asked over the high pitched cries.

"I am not sure" responded the Fox, still in shock.

The noise was becoming very annoying, so you decide to take action. You took a deep breath and with unyielding arms, you picked up the crying baby and held it in front of you. Hiei would have none of this and struggled, but to no avail. This was definitely an area in which you had no experience, especially considering you've never even touched a child younger than yourself. And here you were, holding what looked to be a one-year-old Hiei, crying. Your brain was almost overflowed on trying to digest the concept of what had happened and trying to think of a way to calm Hiei down. You knew that this could not go on forever, so you brought the child closer to you, and although Hiei refused by kicking and flailing his arms, you rested the child on your breast. It felt strange to be holding Hiei like this; strange, but not necessarily unnatural. You did your best to comfort the child by rubbing his back and not saying anything. You stood holding the babe and your panicked eyes searched Kurama for an answer.

"Do your best to comfort him." he said quietly.

"You don't understand Kurama; I've never dealt with children. I've never held a baby before!"

Hearing this, Hiei cried even louder, as if it hurt to hear his predicament verbalized. He fought to push himself away at the same time, rubbing his eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry Hiei; I didn't mean it like that. C'mon, please calm down. We can't help you when you are like this."

But the tears continued. It went on for quite a while until it just suddenly stopped and a sleeping Hiei replaced the crying one in your arms. He stopped fighting you and rested on your shoulder, every once in a while giving a little sniffle.

Your body froze in position once Hiei was quiet. You would not allow any movement that would wake him again, for fear of hearing him cry.

"We must contact Spirit World immediately." whispered Kurama, "Hiei is in grave danger."

"Yes, but I do not think he is that ill, his body temperature is at a normal place, in fact, he is quite cold." you whisper back.

"He is cold because he has no clothes, but that is beside the point. Hiei is the second in command to Mukuru and her territory."

"I don't understand how does that put him in danger?" you asked quietly.

"If she were to find out, she would be furious. She would definitely have her army attack Spirit World, not to mention the assassins."

"Assassins?! Where do assassins enter this equation?" you spat back.

"Because Hiei is such a high class demon and because he holds quite a bit of power in Demon World, there are others who would kill him to earn his title and position. Hiei is a formidable opponent, but in this form, he cannot protect himself anymore!"

"That means we have to get him where it is safe: we have to take him out of Demon World before his condition is made public."

"Exactly, but the mission cannot be terminated until Yusuke and Kuwabara come back. Let's try to contact Koenma right away."

You agree and Kurama leaves the room. Carefully, you use your free hand to grab some of the linens and cover Hiei up, without waking him.

"Kurama wait for me…"

You take one step and check to see if Hiei wakes.

Nothing.

Another step and you again check to see if he wakes.

Nothing.

"Great, only a hundred more of these and I'm home free." you grumble as you continue your step and check method, "The stairs are going to kill me."

"Lord Koenma, you must believe me. I promise this is no joke." pleaded the kitsune.

"Kurama, that is impossible. There is no way that could have happened, so just tell me the truth now, so I can hang up and go finish, my …uh, my work."

"Koenma, I would not lie." Kurama's tone became cold, "I swear on Inari that what I speak is the truth."

By that time, you had finally made it down the stairs successfully with Hiei still asleep.

Kurama noticed and said, "Look for yourself!"

"WHAT!??" screamed the small lord, "HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?!"

You wince and before you could warn the ruler of his voice, it was too late. All of your work was done in vain. Hiei stirred and slowly his eyes opened, save for the small slit atop his head. Drowsily he blinked a few times and let out a small yawn.

"Lord Koenma, we have to get Hi…"

"Forget it Kurama! Your job is to get Hiei the hell out of Demon World without being noticed. Not another soul, dead or alive, can know of this! Hiei is in your charge. Leave right away for Ningenkai!"

"My thoughts exactly…" once again, Kurama sweat dropped as he closed the communicator. He turned to face the now waking Hiei. Looking at you, "May I?"

"Um, Yeah, sure. I'll go get ready to leave." You handed off Hiei and ran up the stairs, happy to temporarily be free of the child.

Kurama figured that Hiei would not want to be held so he did his best to avoid contact as he placed him onto the couch. He sat on the coffee table across from him. Hiei's face again looked panicked and almost afraid.

"Hiei, I'm going to treat you as I would at any other time, ok? Now I know that you still have some sense of consciousness left. So you have to calm down and answer me the best that you can, ok. Did anyone attack you when we were not in your room?" questioned the fox trying to keep his cool.

Hiei blinked and shook his head no.

"Do you know what caused this… this transformation?" asked the Fox.

"No you idiot. How in gods name would I expect shit like this to happen to me!?"

"Gahh ram toh. mai fra lol vrr sag cul baa!?" Hiei stopped for a moment. Why is my speech not matching my thoughts? I'm trapped like this and I cannot even communicate how pissed I am?! His frustration was clearly written on his face in a cute pout.

"Hiei, please. I cannot understand you when you speak. Did you eat or drink anything unusual lately?"

"God damn it Kurama! This is fucking ridiculous!!!!" screamed Hiei as he shook his head no.

"I don't know what to do Hiei, but we have to get you out of the Makai and back into Ningenkai, so you have to try your best to cooperate with us. I understand that your form is annoying, but we can't have anyone else see you. We have Koenma's approval to leave, so we are going now." Spoke Kurama as he picked up Hiei and rested him in one arm.

"No you don't understand! This is humiliating. I would rather take death than this. First you know and she knows; now Koenma knows too? Just kill me; I don't want to be like this!"

After changing your clothes to something more appropriate for human world, you come downstairs to hear Hiei screaming incoherently.

"What did you say to him?" you ask Kurama

"I told him we're leaving and he has to cooperate. It doesn't matter. Whether he cries or not, we still have to go. If he stopped, it would just be easier. Here," Kurama handed the child off to you, "We'll be leaving in ten minutes. I leave a note for the others and collect Hiei's weapons."

Kurama vanished up the stairs and you looked at the pissed off screaming demon. You could not stand it any longer, "Hiei, shut up!" His screaming stopped that instant.

"What the hell, who does she think she is talking to me like that, I should…"

"Hiei, I didn't want to yell, but you keep screaming and now your crying, I don't know what to do with you." you say as you take the child to the table.

"Wait, you say I'm crying." Hiei raised his hand to his face and realized that what you said was true. "Why am I crying? I never cry. I'm not sad. This stupid body takes every reaction as one that needs crying. I am not sad, I'm pissed off!"

"Shh. You should know that I can't understand you like that. Just relax, this will be over soon. Yusuke and Kuwabara might now even know it happened. If we can leave the Makai fast enough, perhaps Koenma or Master Genkai could fix you."

Strangely, this did comfort Hiei, who gradually stopped shedding tears and resisting being held. The warmth felt nice and being near someone did offer him some form of protection.

You lay him on the table and take his cloak, which you had brought from his room, and carefully wrap him up in it. You did your best to cover his face so that no one would see him.

"Now, you obviously can't walk…"

"Yeah don't rub it in."

"So, do you want Kurama to carry you?" Hiei shook his head, "Then I will carry you, is that ok?"

"Whatever."

You quickly and nimbly braid you loose hair up and secure it with a tie. Tossing the long braid behind you, you gently pick up Hiei and cradle him in your arms. You can hear Kurama approaching.

"Is everything set?"

"Yes, now we can leave. How is Hiei." asked Kurama as he opened the front door and locked it after you and Hiei had walked out.

"He seems to be cooperating now. Hopefully, he will remain that way."

The two of you began to run at full speed north, the closest rout to Ningenkai.

Kurama leading the way turns to say, "Hiei, it would be best if you slept now. If you remember, we will be running for a whole day."

Hiei did remember and he tried to get comfortable by wiggling deeper into your grasp. The up and down motions of your running soon had the youkai asleep and at peace.

~ cue end theme song! ~

So, hopefully the plot line is picking up. If you have not already realized it, Hiei has been transformed into a child, well a baby to be exact. I think that this is a creative was to view one of team Urameshi's toughest, most stoic fighters, right? I am starting Chapter three as we speak so hurry and review so that I can incorporate all of your wonderful ideas. Until next time!

-Your most Humble of Authors

Jessie Lee


	3. Chapter 3, THe Human World

WARNING: Not responsible for any cases of shortness of breath, constipation, heart attack, blindness, AIDS, cancer, deftness, ADD, ADHA, loss of erection, stunting of growth, broken bones, dry skin, water eyes, thinness of blood, dyslexia, loss of hair/baldness, death due to shock, loss of bladder control, premarital sex, an erection that lasts more then 4 to 7 hours, heat stroke, gas/flatulence, D.U.I, Murder, herpes, sleep deprivation, nausea, a sudden urge to dance like a white guy, heart burn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea, crabs, yeast infections, warts, acne, pimples, zits, puberty, unexpected pregnancies, and any other sexually transmitted diseases.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the YYH characters mentioned here because they belong to Yoshihiro Togashi-sama.

I own nothing, but the non-YYH characters mentioned and the all around plot. Everything else is strictly borrowed for mere entertainment.

~Cue Opening Theme Song!~

"Hiei. Hiei? Please wake up." you whisper quietly.

Still drunk with the sleep he was in, Hiei tried to open his eyes, thinking that the past events were no more than a nightmare that had come and ended. Only after blinking a few times did reality become clear and he remembered that this was no dream. Irritated, he looked up at you.

"We are almost at the gate between the Makai and Ningenkai. Before we enter pseudo-space, we are going to have to pass through Spirit and Demon World Customs." you say as you continue to run.

Hiei really did not see the importance of it until Kurama had explained that identity verification is necessary to pass. In order to be verified they needed to have your face scanned and processed. They had special documentation from Koenma allowing them to pass, but they were not expected to return for a few more weeks.

"Shit, how the hell are we getting past without being noticed?" asked Hiei. A second later, he frowned because no one responded. He would have never thought that the inability to speak would be such a hindrance, not to mention a real pain in the ass.

"Kurama and I have been planning for a bit, but we need you to follow every direction given to you, ok."

Hiei remained silent.

"Hiei please, be reasonable. If this fails, we will all be detained and we cannot fight them because they are innocent." reminded Kurama.

Hiei let out a sigh and tried to look like he was paying attention. The Fox and you stop running as you begin to approach the entrance of Customs. Hiei catches your movements as you quickly slacken the sash around your waist with your free hand and undue the three clasps on your right shoulder. The fabric, now only suspended by your left shoulder, falls, exposing your right breast.

"What the Hell are you doing? Are you planning on seducing them?"

"Hiei, this is the only way we can hide your face." explained Kurama as he looked away.

"What, do you expect me to hide between them?"

"Please, Hiei, be quiet for a moment." you ask as Kurama continues the plan.

"We will travel under the disguise of kin. If you pretend to feed, then the guard will not ask to look at you, for sake of receiving my furry."

"You want me to what? No, No you can kill me now. I don't want to live through this. There is no way in all of Makai that I will ever do such a thing!"

The two watched the fussing demon, not quite understanding anything other than Hiei definitely did not approve. The little one pushed with both arms, trying to move the flesh away from him, but it was futile.

"This is a bad idea, Hiei will never do this, not to mention it's really strange for me too," you say staring at the fox, "We need a better plan."

"I think that Hiei forgets the position he is in and that, until he is normal again, he has no say in the matter. We will do what is best for all of us, Hiei will have to sacrifice his pride." remarked the fox.

"How to coax him then…" suddenly you have an idea. You remove a small knife concealed under the robe and hand it to Kurama, "Make two one inch incisions parallel to one another."

For a moment, he looks confused, but fulfills your request. Blood begins to quickly seep from the wound. Taking some of it on your finger tips, you place it on Hiei's lips and without warning, Hiei unconsciously begins to nurse. Hiei's face is one of definite shock and stops moving right away. Guiding his head, you help him to latch on, and Hiei repeated the actions. You cannot contain a gasp and making a face from the distinct awkward feeling; definitely something that you have never experienced before. You were thankful that Hiei's unconscious instinct overpowered his mental control, but at the same time, you felt really out of place.

"Very clever." Kurama remarks, "Now let's go, before you run out of blood."

"Dear god! What is wrong with me? Why are they doing this to me? Have they forgotten who I am?"

With the plan already begun, you both continued on your way through he large metal doors. Papers were checked and the necessary certification was complete. For a moment, you actually thought that every thing was going very well and you would all get away; until the final analysis. The portal to Ningenkai was in sight, but from the look on the guard's face, you knew that things were about to change.

Frowning, the guard requested that you stop and show the child's face so that he too could be processed. Kurama's face flinched for a half second, and then retained its previous composure. The guard took a step forward to you and tried to look at the child in your arms. Suddenly, Hiei stopped suckling. Your heart dropped.

"Hiei, Do something! Damn it, you have to react!" you thought as the guard raised his hand to you.

Giving up, you hold a strait face and using the hand beneath the bundle, you pinch Hiei's left thigh as hard as you can. Immediately, the unaware babe began wailing in your arms. Pretending to try to comfort the child, you throw disgusted looks at the man as he lowered his hand.

"Sir, don't think that you can just speak and act that way to my mate or child and plan to keep your life at the same time, because I can promise you, any more disrespect will be the direct cause of your demise." Kurama growled as he stepped in front of you.

"I'm just following procedure…"

"And you will follow it to your grave." said Kurama, cutting off the man.

The guard stared at the Fox, seeing the soft features of his face slowly darken as his eyes streaked gold.

Not saying another word, the guard stepped aside, allowing you and the Fox to pass into pseudo-space. Ten Minutes later, you ended up in Ningenkai.

Hearing Hiei cry so innocently increased the guilt you felt after escaping the Makai. Shifting him so he was now upright ant crying on your shoulder, you did your best to console him. You explain what you had to do and show the small red circle on Hiei's thigh. It was necessary though. If Hiei did nothing, the plan would have failed and innocent blood would be spilt. Kurama let out a sigh and did his best to look pleasant.

"Where do we go now? The greatest danger has been avoided, but Hiei still needs to be cared for." spoke the fox as he began to head towards civilization.

"He can stay at my apartment for now, but I have nothing to care for a child with." you say as Hiei finally quiets down and listens to your conversation. You hand the child to the fox and you redress yourself, glad to have the stressful situation done with.

"Yes, I suppose my mother would be quite shocked if I came home with an infant." smiled the fox, "So I guess our first stop is one for shopping."

You nod and continue to follow him. The train you board is half empty, so there were plenty of seats. Hiei sat in his teammate's lap and refused to make a sound or move as to draw attention to himself.

"He is pouting." you remark.

"Yes, I'm aware. He is upset that we are going to go shopping for him. He will be like this until the ordeal is over."

The train gradually gains more passengers as your destination becomes closer and closer. By the time you exit the train, there are no seats left. The city is full of life even though it is only midday. You both enter a large mall and take the stairs to the second floor. Shopping proved a difficult experience. Hiei was already in a foul mood, but once he noticed how many things needed to be purchased, he became inconsolable. It was difficult to have him try on clothes or choose the products he would prefer. Kicking and fussing, he wouldn't stay still and the fox's patience was unusually thin. The combination of stress and weakness from the mission had done damage to his usual demeanor. Frustrated, Kurama takes an item off the shelf and tears the package open. While mid scream, Hiei is caught off guard as the object is forcibly placed into his mouth. He face turned three shades of red.

"Hiei, if you spit that pacifier out of you mouth even once, I will take you strait to Mukuru, and she will deal with you." scolded Kurama

You fight back a smile.

Hiei thought about this option and decided that humiliation in human world is far better than humiliation in demon world. He quietly sucked on the pacifier without further complication. The sky was darkening by the time they were done. Their total was a little over 22069 Yen. Kurama offered to pay the entire amount, but you wouldn't allow such a thing, so you both contributed to the bill. The train was full of young people heading to clubs and karaoke bars to have fun and it felt weird to be sitting next to Kurama with a child in your lap. Kurama carried the bags of supplies up the stairs as you fumbled to get your keys to the apartment. After unlocking the door, Kurama set everything down on the table as you stood watching and holding the sleeping demon. The apartment was fairly large for a single, but was plainly adorned. The walls were tall with dark colors and muted tones; definitely no place for a child. There were many shelves full of books along the walls and all of the drapes were closed shut and even with the lights on, the place was dimly illuminated. Kurama was in the middle of asking where you would prefer to have everything put, but stopped when he noticed the face you were making and you were not paying attention.

"What is the matter?" he asks

You couldn't find the words, but lifted the demon away from your body and exposed the large wet spot on your abdomen.

Kurama could not help but laugh a little. He took Hiei away and allowed you to go get cleaned and changed. While you were busy, Hiei awoke and stretched a little. Looking around, he noticed that he was no longer in your arms, but the fox's.

"Nani? _(what?)_ " thought Hiei.

"She went to get changed." Hiei looked more confused, "It seems that you cannot control _any_ of your functions."

After hearing him, he realized that the cloak which he was wrapped in was soaked and a look of horror came upon his face. The pacifier fell from his mouth as the shame caused tears to form around his eyes.

"It's okay Hiei. I know that it's not your fault. Your body and emotions are subject to the form you are in, so things like this are going to keep happening until you are back to normal."

You return to find Hiei upset and the Fox pulling off the black cloth. With Hiei naked, Kurama takes the baby as well as a bag or two to the bathroom and turns on the sink tap. You busy yourself trying to find a place for everything that you have bought. The food and formula remain in the small kitchen while the majority of everything else is put in your large bedroom and study. Hiei is left sniffling and doing that hiccup thing that children do after crying. Kurama gently bathes the demon and rinses away the suds. Hiei had no voice to object the bath, but he definitely did not enjoy it. The Fox wraps him in a soft blanket and carries him out of the bathroom. Hearing him, you enter the bedroom to aid in any way you can. Hiei is lying on your bed and Kurama is gathering items needed. You use the towel to dry Hiei's hair. He cannot withhold a blush being cared for by a woman while being naked. Kurama takes him and lays him on his back. The fox then rubbed baby cream around his privates and what happened next was the final nail in the coffin. Hiei sees the diaper before Kurama even unfolds it, and in embarrassment, he whimpers audibly. The Fox continues, ignoring the sound, and holds Hiei's legs up as the diaper is slid beneath him. He quickly tapes up the sides and grabs the pajamas to his left. Pushing the baby demon's arms and legs through the holes, Kurama then snaps up the opening, completing Hiei's new appearance. Looking at the demon, you can see the pleas for help, but you know that there is nothing you can do to change this situation. For now, Hiei is forced to accept his new lifestyle. It's late and before putting Hiei to sleep, a bottle is made for him. The baby submissively takes the nipple, only because his ravenous hunger and feeds while he curses his need to eat. After all the contents of the bottle are gone, Kurama positions Hiei on his shoulder and gently taps his back. Without warning, Hiei burps loudly and you and Kurama laugh in return. Hiei clamps both hands over his mouth in embarrassment, but it is too late. The adorable reaction has the two adults laughing whole heartedly. The little demon's face becomes red and he can no longer take it. Thinking back on the days when he was one of the most powerful demons in all of the Makai, Hiei becomes intolerable. He becomes very agitated and is screaming and pushing himself off of the fox.

"What is the matter Hiei?" you ask, but his wordless screaming becomes louder.

"This isn't fair! I hate you all. I swear that I will kill you both and anyone else who has mocked me. I will kill them all! You will suffer for your insolence damn it!"

Kurama holds him in front of his face and gasps. The tiny, almost unnoticeable slit above the baby's brow is twitching and trying so hard to pull itself open. Quickly Kurama runs to the study and spreads a small blanket on the floor. He puts Hiei down on his stomach then turns and leaves, closing the door behind him.

"What are you doing?" you ask

"He has to be left alone for a bit. Although his body is that of a baby, Hiei still possess a small amount of ki. His Jagan eye is still present in this form, and just as he was when normal, Hiei is able to use it. The only difference is that in this state, he can no longer control it. So if he summons it, it will most likely kill him. Remember what it does to his arm normally and what would happen if he did it in this form"

"So it is best to just leave him to calm down on his own?"

"Yes, without any agitations, he will most likely run out of energy and become harmless again. Hiei is more accustomed to being alone than with others."

For a half hour, Hiei continues and the fox and you struggle to ignore the muffled cries from the other room. Sitting at the table of you kitchen, you both sip on some hot tea and contemplate what will happen. At around eleven o'clock, the noises subside. Tired and exhausted the Fox stands and rubs his face with one hand.

"He should be fine now. Just be careful of what you say to him."

You nod in reply,

"If anything happens or you need me, contact me on the communicator."

Kurama stands and walks to the door.

"Thanks for the help Kurama." you call out as Kurama walks down the hall.

He waves to you while still walking away. You close the front door to the apartment and walk up to your study. Taking a deep breath, you open the door. At first sight, you thought that Hiei might have been dead. Not moving, he was lying on his side with his clothes partially off and his legs tied up in the blanket. Quietly you pick him up and take him back to your room. You re-tape his diaper back on and redress him. His body is motionless and he is starring off into space. For a while, you just hold him to you and he does not resist. Hiei would never admit how comforting this was. Having no where for the little demon to sleep, you lay him in the middle of your large bed. Crawling in yourself, you pull the covers over both of you. Although Hiei fell asleep with his back facing toward you, before morning, he is nestled in a ball to your chest.

~Cue end theme song~

So please tell me if this adventure is worth taking or not. I really do thrive off of all of the wonderful feedback given by you the reader, so please keep reviewing. It makes me want to write and update a lot faster.

-Your humble Authoress

Jessie Lee


	4. Chapter 4, The Realization

WARNING: Not responsible for any cases of shortness of breath, constipation, heart attack, blindness, AIDS, cancer, deftness, ADD, ADHA, loss of erection, stunting of growth, broken bones, dry skin, water eyes, thinness of blood, dyslexia, loss of hair/baldness, death due to shock, loss of bladder control, premarital sex, an erection that lasts more then 4 to 7 hours, heat stroke, gas/flatulence, D.U.I, Murder, herpes, sleep deprivation, nausea, a sudden urge to dance like a white guy, heart burn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea, crabs, yeast infections, warts, acne, pimples, zits, puberty, unexpected pregnancies, and any other sexually transmitted diseases.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the YYH characters mentioned here because they belong to Yoshihiro Togashi-sama.

I own nothing, but the non-YYH characters mentioned and the all around plot. Everything else is strictly borrowed for mere entertainment.

~Cue Opening Theme Song!~

Waking a little before dawn, you carefully get out of bed. By now Hiei is wet and you quickly rush to change him before he wakes up. You do your best considering you've only seen Kurama do this once before. Having his pjs off, you take the opportunity to dress him in a clothing set that was purchased the night before. It was a simple and black one piece with long sleeves and legs, perhaps a little too long. You had to roll up the ends to find his hands and feet, but the end product worked well. Hiei wouldn't complain because it was similar to his normal attire. Once he was completely dressed, you shake him a little to wake him.

"mmmmmh… what do you want? Who in Makai gets up this early?"

You took the baby talk as a sign of life and carried the half asleep demon to the kitchen. With Hiei securely on your hip, you open a container of baby food and add some warm water to it. After stirring, you place the dish on the table and take a seat. You position Hiei in front of you, sitting on the table with his little legs hanging over the edge. By now you had a plan. You would let Hiei try everything out himself, and when he fails, he will allow assistance. You take Hiei's right hand and place the baby spoon in it and you hold out the bowl within his arm's reach. Hiei understood and was grateful to have been given this small amount of autonomy. He didn't even care what the goop would taste like as long as he could do it himself. Sticking the spoon in the food, Hiei tried to pick up a large spoonful, but it just kept falling off. Over and over again, the food would not remain on the utensil long enough to reach the demon's mouth. Frustrated, Hiei throws the spoon.

"Do you need some help Hiei?" you ask as you get another spoon.

Hiei looks away.

"Ok, you can keep trying if you'd like." you smile.

Hiei frowns and looks you in the eye. He takes the second spoon and pushes it back in your hand.

"Oh, so you do want my help?"

Hiei doesn't move.

"Hiei, I am trying to not treat you based on your appearance alone. I know you understand everything perfectly well, so if you need help with something, you are going to have to forgo your pride and try to communicate." you explain.

Hiei lets out a sigh.

"So do you want me to help you?"

Hiei hesitated for a moment, but finally nods his head. You count the victory and take a small amount of the oatmeal and raise it to the demon's mouth. Without further hesitation, the demon open's his mouth wide. A few spoons later, Hiei ends up wearing most of the food. After the bowl is empty, you look at Hiei and ask him if he is still hungry. Thinking about it for a minute, Hiei shakes his head no. You wipe his face clean and wash the bowl and utensils. Turning around, you notice that Hiei has a distressed face and is holding his tummy. Picking him up, you put him on your shoulder and copy what Kurama did; patting his back gently. Hiei was not as surprised as he was the first time he was burped, but it did relieve the pressure. Taking Hiei into the other room, you sat on the two seated couch and turn to the demon,

"So what do you want to do for the rest of the day?"

Hiei shrugs his shoulders.

"I wonder where Kurama is. Stay here, I'm gonna get the communicator." you say as you leave the room.

It took you a little time to find it amongst the piles of new things, but finally you were able to grasp it. Pressing the correct numbers, you were about to dial Kurama, when you heard Hiei scream. It wasn't his usually pissed off scream, one more of terror. You drop the communicator and run back only to find a demon leaning over the couch. Instinct takes over as you tackle the beast to the ground. For a moment, the youkai gains the advantage by pinning you to the floor; the demon was lower class and you easily overpowered it, but not before its tail swung around and struck you on the back of the neck. Snapping its spine, you quickly killed the monster before any more damage was done. Pushing its body off of you, you stand and tend to the terrified baby. Fear was all over Hiei's face and for a moment, you didn't know what to do. Never before had Hiei looked like this.

"Come on Hiei; let's get you out of here." Hiei pulled his face into your shirt, crying, "Shhh. It's ok, he's gone now."

You take Hiei out of the room and place him on the bed. You strip as fast as you can and put clean clothes on. You pack a few things, put them in a satchel and swing it onto your shoulder. There was no time to clean up the body, so you send a distress signal with the communicator. Picking up Hiei as well as a weapon, you left the apartment. The poor child clung to you as he continued his soft crying and you felt pangs of your own. It took some time before Hiei was once again composed, but even then his eyes were still red, fresh with tears. You took the bus to the rural side of town and went to a more wooded and concealed area. The sun was shinning and if not given the situation, it would have been a pleasant day. By now Hiei was quiet and docile. He looked up to you and you replied that you wanted to come here to train anyway. Hiei agreed to the idea and the two sat on a blanket spread on the warm grass. You place Hiei in front of you. His eyes listlessly look over to see his katana by your side, craving the feeling of its cold blade.

"So how much mobility do you still have?" you ask, trying your best to refocus Hiei's mind on something else.

"I haven't really thought of that…" He mused. Looking at his arms and legs, he moved them a little. He could flex his arms and bend them, and he could bend his legs.

"Are you able to stand up?"

Hiei's face was deep in thought.

"Do I remember how to stand?" Wriggling on the ground, Hiei was able to roll over onto his stomach. He then pulled his knees in and had his hands out, but that was pretty much it. He had neither strength nor the memory of how to stand or walk. If he tried really hard, he did what looked like a poor crawl, but that was it. You pick him up from under the arms and help his feet go in the right place. Holding him there, Hiei smiled. He felt some freedom standing upright, even though most of his body weight was on you. While standing, Hiei bent his knees a little and tried to adjust so that he could stand by himself. Taking the message, you loosen your grip on him until he is freely standing on his own. He wobbles and teeters for a bit before he falls backwards on his butt with a little gasp. You waste no time and pull him up again from under the arm, standing. Slowly, you again let go. This time, he quickly takes a step forward before falling with a little thud. You both smile. "Progress starts off small, but is progress nonetheless." you say as Hiei is already raising his arms to be lifted onto his feet again. You oblige him and with each attempt, Hiei gets farther and farther then the step before. Hiei's little body could only handle less than an hour of "training" and was quickly tired out after the fiftieth plop to the ground. You look at the sky and the sun is at the pinnacle of its path. Looking back at Hiei, you watch as he gives a little yawn and then followed it with a sigh. You reach an arm into the bag and pull out an empty bottle. You take a container of formula and pour the off-white colored liquid into the bottle, finishing by tightening the lid. The directions listed how often and how much a child should be fed based on age and weight. Drowsily, Hiei opens his eyes and sees the object in your hands.

"Watch your actions woman; do not think I will allow you to humiliate me any further." Hiei tried to say.

You ignore the baby talk and pull Hiei into your lap. He regains some energy lost from his fit of sleepiness and swings his arms and legs in an attempt to smack the object out of his path of view.

"Don't be difficult now, you were acting so well today." you mumble as you try to hold down Hiei's flailing limbs. The demon resorts to frowning and holding his mouth tightly shut, so you retort by dirty means. Using a free hand, you pinch the boy's nose shut. After less than a minute, Hiei is forced to open his mouth and gasp for air, so you take the opportunity and insert the bottle's nipple and release the child's nose simultaneously.

"How dare you treat me like this if I were not…" Hiei tried to speak around the nipple, but when his lips moved, he was greeted with a mouthful of formula. He choked for a minute, but was forced to swallow the substance so that he could breath. Eventually, his infant instincts took over and he continued to suckle form the bottle, all the while keeping his meanest scowl on his face.

"Do not blame me, I am only following directions." you say as you close your eyes still propping the bottle so the milk was flowing into the demon's mouth. You eyes opened only when you noticed that the sucking sound had stopped. Hiei was fighting dearly to keep his eyelids separated. His frown had easily melted with the warmth of the sun. You remove the bottle and notice how much milk is left behind. "Strange, you finished the other bottle entirely and yet you didn't even get to half of this one." Another yawn escapes the youkai. The sun was shining warmly on everything it touched and the wind had a fine scent to it when it gently traveled. You lie on you back and place Hiei on his stomach onto your chest. Hiei proves too tired to combat you and decides the position is indeed comfortable. A lone hand wandered to the child and gently strokes the little demon's head. Although the act in itself might have seemed embarrassing to Hiei in his regular form, you were greeted with the satisfaction of a soft purr that emanated form the child on top of you. For an instant, you realized just how awkward everything had become. Like a distorted dream that once awoken from seems fuzzy and unfamiliar. You tried to picture yourself in the same position only with Hiei not as a baby. Your face flinched for a moment. You then tried to imagine feeding and caring for Hiei as an adult and the idea made you wince even more. All of this time you had tried to treat Hiei the way you normally would, but you knew that Hiei would never let you pet him as you were now, he wouldn't dare let you feed him, and he would kill you at the very proposition of changing his soiled diapers if he was in his full form. So why had you accepted the change, when Hiei obviously hadn't. Why did you care so much for him now, when before you separated yourself from everyone else? You had no experience as a mother and yet here you were, trying to raise Hiei as your own kin. You knew that both you and Hiei possessed similar childhoods in that fact that you were both tortured and abandoned, left to fend for yourselves. Did seeing Hiei in this state remind you of the pains that you both had endured? Perhaps, unconsciously, you wanted to give someone who suffered like you the opportunity to reclaim that lost part of himself and in doing so, rectify a piece of your own lost past? You accepted that it was true and although you recognized that there would be negative consequences, for now, you just wanted Hiei to be happy in whatever form he was in. Only later on would you understand the impact that this decision truly had. Finding little else to keep your mind occupied, you also felt yourself melting into the warmth of the sun.

~Cue End Theme Song! ~


	5. Chapter 5, The Comfort and Acceptance

WARNING: Not responsible for any cases of shortness of breath, constipation, heart attack, blindness, AIDS, cancer, deftness, ADD, ADHA, loss of erection, stunting of growth, broken bones, dry skin, water eyes, thinness of blood, dyslexia, loss of hair/baldness, death due to shock, loss of bladder control, premarital sex, an erection that lasts more then 4 to 7 hours, heat stroke, gas/flatulence, D.U.I, Murder, herpes, sleep deprivation, nausea, a sudden urge to dance like a white guy, heart burn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea, crabs, yeast infections, warts, acne, pimples, zits, puberty, unexpected pregnancies, and any other sexually transmitted diseases.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the YYH characters mentioned here because they belong to Yoshihiro Togashi-sama.

I own nothing, but the non-YYH characters mentioned and the all around plot. Everything else is strictly borrowed for mere entertainment.

~Cue Opening Theme Song!~

The day had been much too long for the poor fox, but he endured through most of it. Because he had returned home, he had to also return to school or risk his human mother's suspicions. He had in addition spent most of the day going through large old books researching for any type of remedy that he could offer his friend. After receiving the distress signal, he excused himself from classes and rushed over to see what had happened. Using his old talents as a thief, Kurama broke into your apartment only to find the demon's corps on the floor. He contacted Koenma and had the body disposed of before it could be discovered by anyone else. Only recently was he able to track down where she had gone with Hiei. The sun was close to beginning it's decent down as the fox entered the park. Using a keen sense of smell, he easily detected your presence and found you in an isolated region of trees. Kneeling, he went to wake you when…

~Flash~

"Stay back!" you scream as you unleashed the katana with one hand and hold the child to your chest with the other.

Kurama froze with the blade millimeters from his vital organs. Kurama quietly calls your name and you open your eyes to see your friend there. You lower the sword and replace it into its sheath.

"I see that your day has been equally stressful." commented the fox as he sat beside you.

You nod and sit up, carefully repositioning Hiei into your lap. "We were attacked, or Hiei was, I am no longer sure. I left for a moment to get the communicator and returned to find that thing hovering overtop Hiei. I am used to having demons spontaneously show up, but that hasn't happened in such a long time." you say as you reflect on the past.

"Do you think that someone knows about Hiei yet?" inquired Kurama as he looked at the child in your arms.

"I am not sure. If it knew about Hiei, wouldn't it have killed or attacked him, instead of just looking at him. It was like it was curious seeing a demon child in the Ningenkai, but then again how did that demon get there himself. Granted it was a lower class one, but Spirit World is beginning to lose its touch."

"The body has been cleared away and Spirit World authorities are investigating if it was a spy or if it was serving any demon Lords know to work within this region."

Hiei stirred within your arms.

"Perhaps we should leave, it is getting quite late." you agree with Kurama and give the child to the fox's awaiting arms.

You return everything into your bag and again sling it over your shoulder. Both of you walk together, this time Kurama carrying Hiei wrapped up in a small blanket.

"So how was he?" asked the fox smiling.

"Difficult, but I think that he is doing his best, regardless of the show he puts on. He smiled today: twice in fact. As irritating and humiliating as it must be to be in that form, I think he enjoys the chance to be taken care of instead of always being alone."

"I doubt that he realizes how fortunate he is to have someone to take care of him now. If he was able to leave, he would have transformed in Demon world without us knowing and he could have seriously been in danger," said Kurama as he rearranged Hiei in his arms so that he would be warmer.

It took longer to walk to your apartment, but the night was cool and peaceful. Living in the south of Japan was nice because it was more tranquil compared to the never-sleeping city. The only disadvantage was that it was a long commute to anywhere. You were surprised to find that your door was not locked and you looked to Kurama, "I guess old habits never die huh?"

"They most unquestionably do not" replied Kurama smiling genuinely.

You enter the apartment, glad to not have the smell of death around any more. Walking into the bedroom, you notice something has changed. You turn on the lights and see that a small crib was placed close to your bed. You look to Kurama with a confused face.

"I was planning on bringing it here after school, but ended up doing so after the body was cleaned. I felt bad that you had to care for Hiei alone. This was mine when I was very young. I took it while my mother was out today, but I know that she will not know that it is missing." said Kurama as he laid Hiei down within the new crib. "I though it might make it easier on you."

"That was very kind of you Kurama. I am very grateful." you replied.

"Speaking of my mother, next week she will be going to visit relatives in america. She had intended me to come, but I was able to decline. That way, I can take Hiei off your hands for a while and give you a break."

"I know this may sound strange, but it has been nice taking care of Hiei. I am not used to seeing this side of him. It is… different." you finally manage out.

Kurama's eyes narrowed, "Yes, but do not become too attached. We must focus on restoring Hiei back to normal. It is not fair for him to remain like this forever."

You nod your head and agree. Kurama stays for a little while and the two of you idly chat. Kurama informs you that he has yet to find an antidote. After he left, you decided that a nice hot bath would be the perfect way to relax for a bit. You start the water and proceed to remove your clothing.

~back in the other room~

Visions of the island in the sky were disturbing and Hiei found himself trapped in another nightmare. Old memories, tainted with hatred came flooding back to the youkai. Hiei awoke with a jolt. Not aware of his surroundings and realizing that he was alone, Hiei began to panic. Finally, Hiei noticed that he was being held captive in a cage of tall white bars. His panic, anger, and fear all translated into one response: "Whaaaaaaaa!"

You were just about to get into the water when you hear the cry. Thinking that there was another intruder, you rush out to find nothing, but Hiei crying in his new crib. You let out a sigh and put on a robe before walking to the crib. Hiei, too busy rubbing his eyes to notice that you were watching, continued to shed tears while sitting up. You say Hiei's name softly and simply pet his hair. The crying child stops and looks up at you. His large red eyes were still watering at the corners as he raises him arms up high at you. He did not care how embarrassing it was; he just wanted to be free. Without thinking, you carefully lift him out of the crib and sit on your own bed.

"What is the matter Hiei?" you ask after he finally stops sobbing.

He looks at you and quickly buries his face into your lose hair.

"Don't be such a baby, it is just a bed. One intended for people your size."

"Hn." you laugh at the fact that Hiei's trademark reply is the same even as a child.

"What is it? I was about to go take a bath."

Nervously, he looks back at you with pleading eyes.

"Fine." you reply, "but you will be bathed as well then."

You carry Hiei off to the Japanese bathroom and seat him on the counter. You unsnap the outfit and pull it off of Hiei, leaving him only in a diaper. Seeing his reflection for the first time, Hiei lets out a heavy sigh and turns away so that he no longer has to witness the ordeal. You quickly pull at the plastic tabs and remove the wet diaper from Hiei. His whole body tenses at the fact. You were intending to jibe him, but seeing how bothered he was, you changed your mind. Taking a wash cloth in hand, you scrub his entire body and rinse him afterwards. This of course has Hiei's face very red. You place him safely onto the ground.

"Ok now, no peeking. I know that you are just as you were mentally, so don't even try it." you sit on the stool and remove the robe you were wearing. Taking a bucket of water, you dump it on yourself and proceed to scrub your whole body as well. After finishing by refilling the bucket and again pouring it over yourself, you stand. Still wet, you walk back to where Hiei was quietly sitting, facing the other direction and pick him up. The skin contact gives him shivers and for once, he is grateful that a part of him is not the way it once was. Holding on tightly, you climb into the large tub and sit down in the warm water. For a moment, Hiei becomes afraid and flails his arms around trying to stay afloat. You laugh and pick him up under the arms and place him slowly into the water. It is very calming, but at the same time, you know that Hiei is thinking, "Drop me and die Bitch," so you are very cautious. Hiei finally rests his head back onto your chest and soon you both become quite comfortable in the water. A little while later, Hiei opened his eyes when he feels himself being turned around. Now facing you, he watches as you climb out of the Ofuro. You sit him on the bath counter again and use a towel to dry him off. Before going into the next room, you slip the robe back on and tie the sash taunt around your waist. Hiei holds onto you for dear life, convinced that at any moment, he will be dropped. You took care to gently place him on the bed and he released you from his baby death grip. The night was so calm and seeing outside of your window brought your mind a little more at peace. Letting out a small sigh, you look back to Hiei. This would definitely be a challenge. The only time, you could even think to change him was when he was asleep. After seeing the reaction he had with Kurama, you did not think that it would go so well without any back up. You grabbed what you needed and placed them on the bed for Hiei to see. No surprises, he would see what was coming and hopefully not fight for too long. Bottle in hand, you squirt some lotion in your palm and begin to apply it to the demon's entire body. Sensing the inevitable, Hiei lets his little head fall to the side, free of not having to watch the nightmare. You take both of his feet in one hand and slip the diaper below him before returning his legs. You sprinkle a liberal amount of baby powder before pulling the middle up between his legs and securing the sides. It was not as good as Kurama had done, but it was done nonetheless. You dress him in those footed pajamas that everyone has as a child and pick him up again. His head falls limp on your shoulder. Secured with one arm, you use the other to make a bottle before bed. Taking it back to the study, you sit down on the couch and get comfortable. Amazingly, there was no fight. And you realize that Hiei did not try to quarrel when you dressed him either. Staring at you, Hiei gives in quietly and holds his moth open for a little longer. Seeing this, you ask no questions and place the bottle in Hiei's mouth, which he casually sucked on. The day's events rattled through your brain and you wondered when life would finally turn back to normal. Kurama had been right: Hiei could not stay in this form any longer. Hiei looked up at your deep in thought features.

"It doesn't make sense. I did everything she wanted me to do, and she still is not satisfied. Would she have me grovel on the floor? This is what I get for trying to say _thank you_." thought Hiei stoically.

You notice that Hiei was staring at you and for a moment, you could not help but stare back. Hiei looked away and stopped suckling.

"Hiei, are you not hungry?" you ask and his eyes again avert your view, "Fine, c'mon then."

You set the bottle aside and carry him back into the kitchen.

"So I heard a rumor about you Hiei," you say as you close the freezer door of the small fridge, "I was wondering if Yusuke was telling the truth."

You set the container down, scooped out a little, and then returned the rest. Hiei, not really interested in rumors you've heard, doesn't really pay attention, until you sit him down on the kitchen counter.

"Surely, you remember what this is," you say as you take a small portion and hold it to the child's mouth. Hiei was definitely not hungry, but cooperated. When the cold sensation hit his mouth, he had to blink a few times. "Cold, creamy, soft texture… yes. It was sweet snow. He had been known to consume large quantities of it whenever he happened upon some." He held his mouth greedily open, now craving more of the ice cream. You smirk and please the demon by giving him some more. Together, you both finished the small portion of ice cream together.

Hiei holds his mouth out, wanting more, but you reply, "Sorry Hiei, but his is not very good for you in large amounts. Tomorrow, if you are as good as you were today, I will make sure Kurama gives you some."

Hiei pouts for a moment.

"You treat me like a child, woman. You honestly think that I don't see your plan to have me give into this charade by using such a foul method. I promise you that I will not be so forgiving."

You turn your head to the side, "Tomorrow, we will work to train your speaking abilities, though I am quite troubled of what you will say."

"As you should be" thought Hiei.

"It's late, let's go to bed." you speak softly.

You take Hiei in both arms and gently lower him into the crib. He tensed up, but you tenderly cover him with the blanket provided. You look at him one last time before climbing into your own bed and pulling the covers completely up. Slowly, the night progressed. An hour hand not yet enough time to be spent when you hear an almost inaudible sigh. You turn in your bed to gain a better view of Hiei in the crib. He was sitting up with the blanket still around him, attentively staring at his own hands and the shadows that the little fingers cast upon the surface. Giving in, you pull the covers away and crawl out of bed. At the sound of you stirring, Hiei turns his head to face you. His eyes were large and round as he looked over you. With little faltering, he raises his arms as he did in the park, signifying his want to be picked up. You dip into the crib to reach and raise the child with the blanket around him, up and out.

"I see that you cannot sleep either, huh?" you ask as you carry him to the window, to gaze out into the night. Hiei quietly nods.

"I do not sleep to often either," you remark as your eyes try to take in the sky, "It's too vulnerable a position and only leads to nightmares."

Hiei placed his small hand onto the cool glass and for a moment was lost in the nostalgia of it all. Letting his arm fall back to its place, Hiei slumps and lets his body rest on you, instead of propping itself up stiff, as it usually did whilst being carried. For a moment, you both completely understand each other, without need for words. Unthinking, you again find yourself rubbing Hiei's back softly, trying to lull him to sleep. Some time passes by, and in the company of you, Hiei slowly feels himself struggling to maintain consciousness. Seeing this, you turn and walk back to the crib to lower the half-asleep demon into it. You had not the chance to even let go before you heard again, the faintest sound of a sigh or whimper. Hiei's eyes were silently beseeching you.

"Is it really that bad, Hiei?" you ask referring to his entire experience.

Hiei, thinking that you were referring to the crib, lets his eyes fall to look at a different direction, acknowledging the weakness he has been exuding.

"I guess that Kurama does not need to know about this," you begin and are again greeted by the demon's eyes, "But if he is around, you'll be expected to sleep here."

Hiei lets a smile escape him as he nods once. Taking his blanket, you bundle Hiei up and retire to your awaiting bed, now chill from lack of contact. You set a decent amount of space between you, to satisfy Hiei but notice that he is starring at you.

"Is she disgusted by me like this?" thought Hiei.

Seeing the question on his face, you satisfy your own desires and pull his body into yours. Hiei responds by letting out the air he was holding until now and immerses himself in your scent and contact.

"It has been… so long… since I have felt this kind of contact. It feels… nice. I think that I actually… enjoy this." thought the surprised Hiei.

You let your arms coyly wrap themselves around the boy and offer him protection and warmth.

Your mind is racing, "Why do I behave like this? Why did I confide to him at the window? I do not speak to anyone like that. Why does he have me feel like this? Can he sense my speeding pulse?"

So many questions made themselves known to you, but spellbound in the swift moment, you were comforted by another person's presence, even if was someone like Hiei. Never before had another person influenced you as Hiei did, and never before had you experienced an entire night's sleep so peacefully.

~Cue End Theme! ~


	6. Chapter 6, The Illness

WARNING: Not responsible for any cases of shortness of breath, constipation, heart attack, blindness, AIDS, cancer, deftness, ADD, ADHA, loss of erection, stunting of growth, broken bones, dry skin, water eyes, thinness of blood, dyslexia, loss of hair/baldness, death due to shock, loss of bladder control, premarital sex, an erection that lasts more then 4 to 7 hours, heat stroke, gas/flatulence, D.U.I, Murder, herpes, sleep deprivation, nausea, a sudden urge to dance like a white guy, heart burn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea, crabs, yeast infections, warts, acne, pimples, zits, puberty, unexpected pregnancies, and any other sexually transmitted diseases.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the YYH characters mentioned here because they belong to Yoshihiro Togashi-sama.

I own nothing, but the non-YYH characters mentioned and the all around plot. Everything else is strictly borrowed for mere entertainment.

~Cue Opening Theme Song!~

As the sun slowly rose in the horizon, the golden beams entered the room through the window's glass and danced around the room, giving it an unnaturally glowing appearance. It was late in the morning, which was strange compared to your awake before five schedule. A soft knocking sound had your ears perked and you quickly opened your eyes and took in the luminescent room. Your eyes fell to the child in your arms. Hiei's face was scrunched up as if deep in thought, or deep in pain. His small eyes were held tightly closed and small creases in his face were noticeable from the effort. Keeping him attached to your body, you managed out of bed and to the door and casually unlocked the latch. Turning before the visitor could enter you walk into the kitchen and put some water on the stove. Letting a yawn escape, you face Kurama and give a gentle bow and say good morning.

"Um, I am sorry to wake you, but I figured that since it was Saturday, I could come to aid with Hiei's care." spoke Kurama

You smile a little and nod softly. No sooner had you sat down to a cup of tea did Hiei's eyes pop open and his face goes completely red. His little body tensed up and you looked down at him.

"Nani?" you ask.

Kurama takes a step forward and sniffs the air, "Perhaps, I should take Hiei…"

"But why…" you could not finish your sentence when you recognized the smell, "be my guest."

"I am not surprised, this was bound to happen."

Hiei was mortified as his eyes watered, but grateful that his old friend would change him and not you. It would be much too embarrassing, although, what was left of his pride? Kurama takes the child and carries him to the other room. A little while later and you can hear the tap of the sink turn on. Starring at the liquid in your cup, you realize that you really are not in the mood for it, but rest your head on the table beside it instead. Closing your eyes, you realize that the light has been irritating you and having your lids closed relieved some of the irritation. Stirring awake, you had not even recognized that you were again asleep. The water was no longer running, and you pulled your body away from the chair. Dragging your feet, you made your way to the bathroom and opened the door without thinking. Kurama was holding a wet demon with its face red and embarrassed. His eyes showed witness of crying. He made his sentiments known in a growl. Taking a second thought, you exited the room. Taking a seat on the couch, you waited. Shortly later, the door opened, and Kurama entered with Hiei wrapped in a towel. Seeing you, Hiei took the tail of the towel and covered his face up. You fought back a smile.

"Where are the…"

You point to the top drawer of a small bureau which used to contain your own clothes.

"And the…"

Your hand swung to point at a container next to the bureau where Hiei's diapers and other necessities were.

Kurama looked at you, "Are you feeling well?"

You silently nod and rise from the couch. He believes the lie. As Kurama focuses on diapering Hiei, who is doing his best to resist, you grab clothes from the bureau. You place the articles on the bed for Kurama to use. After being dressed, Hiei was sat up on the bed. Looking at his attire, Hiei frowned harder. He was wearing a pale blue outfit which consisted of a onesie underneath and a one-piece jumpsuit. The end tapered off, instead of having two holes for legs. Hiei kicked his little feet in disapproval. This meant he would not be walking or trying to today. Hiei had opened his mouth to verbalize himself, but Kurama turned back to the container and returned with the pacifier. Instead of putting it in the baby's mouth, he put it in Hiei's hand and gave him the "you know what to do" look. Instinctively, Hiei raised his arm with the object to throw it across the room, but after thinking about it, his arm lowered itself and the hand wandered to his mouth.

"How do you do it?" you manage to say.

Both demons looked at you, Hiei intently sucking on the pacifier.

"How come he listens to you so well?" you ask

"Well, Hiei and I have known each other for a very long time, not to mention, we've been team mates for almost as long. It's more of having experience with him. I'm sure that he listens to you as well. More than he does Kuwabara."

Smiling faintly, "He'd listen to anyone more than Kuwabara." you utter.

Hiei let a giggle escape him.

Focusing again on Hiei, Kurama lifts him with one arm and calmly asks him rhetorically, "Hiei, are you hungry?" Hiei shakes his head. "no."

Without consideration of Hiei's answer, baby oatmeal is made anyway. Hiei's face shows its dissatisfaction in being ignored. Holding Hiei in his left, Kurama began to spoon an amount of the oatmeal. You join Kurama at the other side of the table, starring at your tea again, occasionally sipping the luke warm beverage for the sake of doing so. Trying to reaffirm his presence, Hiei again shakes his head negatively. The fox simply removes the pacifier ad places it on the table. Hiei reaches out for it in a vain attempt to signify that he did not want any food, in fact, he felt quite full. Kurama held the spoon to the child's mouth. Frustrated, Hiei was forced to comply. A few spoons later, he had had enough. If was not full before, he was now. He now shook his head to avoid the spoon and after a while of being encouraged to continue eating, he began to cry with food all over his face. You look up at the baby.

"What's the matter with him?"

"He will not eat any more." replied Kurama, consoling the baby.

"Strange, he wouldn't eat much yesterday either. I had to bribe him into doing it."

Kurama gave you a very confused look.

With no time to make another sound, Hiei leaned over and vomited onto the table. It was not much, only what he had recently consumed. After expelling the contents of his stomach, Hiei seemed to relax a little, now that he felt better, but still managed to give way to more tears. You look on; stunned that Hiei even had the ability to vomit. Kurama hands Hiei to you and begins to clean the mess. You focus on wiping up Hiei's mouth and face. This is definitely not a good morning for poor Hiei.

"Is he sick?" you inquired over the light sobs of the baby.

"Perhaps… although demons do have stronger immune systems. It's possible Hiei is just not accustomed to eating regularly considering in his adult form he would eat a couple times out of the month."

After he was cleaned, you carried him to the counter and filled a bottle with some cool water. Hiei eyed you, tears still escaping him.

"It will take the taste away." you insist and Hiei accepts the bottle. He drinks a little before he stops and sniffles a little. You wash the pacifier and hand it to him, not expecting him to do more than hold it. Hiei places the object in his mouth, comforted a little by the sensation.

So what is to happen now?" you address Kurama.

"We should take him to Master Genkai's now. He is stable and there is little threat present from demon world, so now it is safe to move him."

Hiei looked up at you and then at Kurama. He understood that this was for the best, but it would not be a pleasurable experience. He was already feeling ill and did not think that this situation was going to help any.

"Hiei, it will not be that bad, I assure you. Master Genkai is wise and may be able to aid you."

Hiei threw the fox a look of doubt. He was carried by the fox and wrapped up tightly in a blanket. Whilst in the other room, you untie the sash holding the robe on and leave it on the bed before you enter the closet. Assuming that there would be no fighting, you decide to wear present ningen clothes instead of the kimonos and training clothes that lined the rack of the small closet. After hooking your bra on, you put a dark turtleneck followed by a black pleated skirt that ended at the middle of your calf. Quickly, you tie your hair back and slide your shoes on. With one final glance around the room, the group left. You fought to put the key in the door to lock it, but seemed to have a little trouble with depth perception. Hiei was quiet. His eyes wandered and took in everything that passed him. The world was now much different compared to how he had once viewed it. He let out a sigh. This caught Kurama's attention. In response, Kurama gently smiled. Hiei did not return the favor, but instead let out another sigh. The sky was dimly lit and clouds drifted softly, changing colors whenever a small amount of light hit them. Walking proved more difficult than you had expected. Your vision became tunneled and your body throbbed. You unconsciously rubbed the back of your neck. It was past mid-day by the time you had all reached the mountain. After scaling the countless number of stairs, you made it to the gated property. Yukina greeted the group kindly as you entered the temple. Guided by a small light held by the petite demon, you followed the ice maiden quietly to a large room where Genkai was waiting, casually sipping tea. It was obvious that all people present were informed of the situation because when Kurama sat down allowing Hiei's face to become visible, there was no reaction. Yukina finished serving tea and again left the large room. Setting down her own cup, Genkai began asking a long list of questions which ranged from how long Hiei had been unconscious before he changed to what he had eaten in his newer form. The young demon quietly endured the awkwardness and simply laid with his head back, staring at the high ceiling above. Kurama did most of the talking, while you nodded in agreement.

"Thanks for your help. I need to speak with Hiei alone now. Please wait in the other room. Tell Yukina to bring me the supplies," spoke the old woman in her usual cracked voice.

You were very tired and did not feel like moving, but obliged her demands. After sliding the door shut, you looked to Kurama for some form of assurance. You sought refuge in the corner and made yourself comfortable. Fighting the sleep, you coyly watch Kurama from across the room. His body, unlike yours, remained composed and his eyes met yours, giving off a concerned look. Thinking that he was referring to Hiei you pass it off as nothing, when in fact, his eyes passed over your fatigued body.

In the other room, Hiei stared at the closed doors until Genkai rose from her position. She made her way closer to the child and kneeled beside it.

"So tell me Hiei, how has you new experience been so far? I bet you have seen far worse before."

Hiei ignored the statement.

"Hiei, do not try to deceive me, I can still sense every bit of your demon energy." retorted Genkai sitting back.

"I am not deceiving anyone, I am merely not in the mood for talking." scoffed Hiei angrily.

Genkai did not fight her smile, "I see, so you cannot speak either, so even your brain has been affected. You psyche is all that remain in that little body now."

She let out a sigh of satisfaction.

"It will be difficult, but you will have to rebuild all of those connections between neurons if you wish to regain functionality."

She reached out and began to undress the demon. Hiei did not appreciate being stripped without permission or warning and kicked and swung his arms around. The woman easily smacked the younger's hands away and soon had Hiei in nothing but his diaper. Hiei restrained a blush. This was the first time anyone had seen him like this outside of the apartment. The fact that Genkai's hands were cold on his skin and made him shiver was even more embarrassing. Her eyes probed over his body scrutinizingly and looked for any defect. As she continued her inspection she also interrogated him.

"Do you eat everyday?"

~Nod.~

"And at night as well?"

~Nod.~

"Do you sleep often?"

~Nod.~

Genkai turned Hiei so his back was now visible. She ran her hand down the demon's spine checking for irregularities. Finding none, Hiei was again flipped, but this time her attention went to Hiei's Jagan.

"You have used it after your transformation."

Hiei looked up. It was more of a statement then a question, but he nodded anyway. Carefully, Genkai peeled open the small slit atop his forehead and examined the dormant Jagan. Genkai made eye contact with Hiei after releasing the lid, allowing it to close, "I warn you not to attempt to use it again." She turned to the tray on the small table which was laid out by Yukina. Taking a small knife, she nicked a tiny cut on Hiei's foot. Allowing some time for the blood to make its way out, she reached for an object on the tray. Hiei stared intently. Collecting the drops on the surface, she placed the object back on the table and returned her attention to timing Hiei's blood coagulation rate. Cleaning off the tiny cut, she returned to her seat and examined the tool she had previously used. Hiei looked around nervously.

Letting out another sigh, you open your eyes, Kurama was still watching you. The room was tense because no one had spoken a word. You hadn't the opportunity to speak when the door was slid open and Genkai allowed you to both enter. Seeing Hiei lying naked on the tatami mats, you hurry over to him. Kneeling too fast, you take a second to recover from the dizziness. You busy yourself by redressing Hiei, understanding that being left so exposed must irritate him greatly. Genkai wasted no time and returned to her seat and explain Hiei's condition.

"To put it simply, Hiei is severely malnourished." spoke Genkai.

"What, that cannot be. Hiei has been feed as directed. Even when he refused to eat, he was encouraged to do so. This has to be related to his… condition."

"Yes Kurama, that might be true, but that is all human food. What you have given him is perfect for a human child, but inadequate for a demon child, especially a demon kit at Hiei's current age. Luckily this was caught in the early stages when his body is rejecting all else until it gets what it needs. His body's energy is decreasing and even blood clotting factors have been affected. If he were to be attacked or become sick, his immune system would shut down instead of fighting. Other than that, Hiei is perfectly healthy."

You swallowed and managed to ask, "So what can we do to help Hiei get better?"

"Basically, the nutrients and necessary antibodies that Hiei needs can be found in breast milk, preferably demon breast milk."

You look down.

"Then how come Hiei did not become ill sooner?" questioned Kurama.

"He must have been fed something that was strong enough to last until recently." replied Genkai.

Kurama looked at you remembering your solution to entering pseudo space.

"So all we have to do is breast feed Hiei every so often and he will remain healthy?" asked Kurama.

Genkai nodded, "Someone willing preferably."

Kurama looked to you.

"… I'm really sorry, but I cannot." you say as you hand Hiei over to Kurama, "If it were anything else, I would gladly, but I just cannot…."

Genkai watched quietly.

Kurama sat Hiei down on the mat beside himself. Hiei looked up to you almost hurt. He thought for sure you would be willing to help him after you had been doing so all this time.

"I'm not surprised. This is what I get for trusting people and becoming attached. I should know better then to depend on people…" thought Hiei ashamed.

Kurama looked perplexed, "I understand that this is a lot to ask of you and that you have already done so much for Hiei, but you are the only one who can do this."

You stood up, "no, I am very sorry Hiei, but I cannot."

The room began to spin.

Kurama was mildly irritated, "Please, you must do this for Hiei's sake. In his condition, he is very weak, if he gets worse he could…"

"It is better that I not. We can find someone else."

"There is no one else!" cried the fox, "You are the only one!"

You take a few steps back and try to go to the sliding door.

"please…" you whisper again rubbing your neck, your body reaching it's limits, "It is not safe…"

Kurama is silent. You vision almost gone, you begin to cough painfully. Turning back to look at Hiei, you wince as you begin to feel more pain. Genkai gets up and calls for Yukina. Seeing the blood on your chin, Kurama is alarmed. He calls out your name, but it falls on deaf ears. Audibly mumbling Hiei's name, you pass out, falling to the ground gracefully and hitting your head on the surface.

Hiei witnessing the scene take place was immediately inconsolable. With a strained breath he managed a coherent, "NOOOOOOO!" with his arms outreached for you as if he could catch and break your fall. Trying his best, he struggled to crawl to your lifeless body, but was again and again falling over because of the fabric of his clothes not permitting leg movement. His cries and screams echoed in the still room

~Cue End Them Song! ~

I hope that you are enjoying this story as much as I am. I continue to encourage any feed back that you can give me, because it really is impossible to write without knowing if it is good enough. Thank you to all of the readers and reviewers. Now I do have a question: Hypothetically, if I were to induce a sudden plot change or twist (not that I am or will) and it would include another character undergoing the same transformation as Hiei ( not that this will happen, it might, but it might not) who would you ( hypothetically) want to see this done to? Please include this in your reviews and be clear on why it would work out well. I ask that you limit this to major characters as well as characters that are considered alive. (Sorry Sensui fans) This could include people like Kurama (including Yoko I suppose), Yusuke, Kuwabara (please not him, nothing personal, but, he is not exactly my favorite person), Genkai, Yukina, Keiko, Botan, or even Koenma (Hmmm… how would that work out?) Anyone else who could qualify is also a possibility. I just want to know what you would all prefer IF this were to happen, which it might not. I don't want to give away any of the plot, but I do want to know what you think. If you have any more advise on where this story should go, please review. Thanks!

Your Humble Authoress,

Jessie Lee


	7. Chapter 7, The Nursing

WARNING: Not responsible for any cases of shortness of breath, constipation, heart attack, blindness, AIDS, cancer, deftness, ADD, ADHA, loss of erection, stunting of growth, broken bones, dry skin, water eyes, thinness of blood, dyslexia, loss of hair/baldness, death due to shock, loss of bladder control, premarital sex, an erection that lasts more then 4 to 7 hours, heat stroke, gas/flatulence, D.U.I, Murder, herpes, sleep deprivation, nausea, a sudden urge to dance like a white guy, heart burn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea, crabs, yeast infections, warts, acne, pimples, zits, puberty, unexpected pregnancies, and any other sexually transmitted diseases.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the YYH characters mentioned here because they belong to Yoshihiro Togashi-sama.

I own nothing, but the non-YYH characters mentioned and the all around plot. Everything else is strictly borrowed for mere entertainment.

~~It has been quite a while, hasn't it? I've had these chapters for some time, but college and medschool have forced me to prioritize my life. I started this back as a high school freshmen, so this actually makes me quite nostalgic. I will post what I had written during that time and if I determine that it should be changed, I will do so later. I hope you have not forgotten me, so please review if you can.~~

~Cue theme song!~

Foggily, you open your eyes and the haze which covers them is gradually lifted. The dimly lit room around you becomes visible. You feel a good deal better and a hand wanders to the back of your neck. The scar that was once there is no longer there, but instead is covered by bandages. Hearing someone coming, you sit up. Kurama entered quietly. Looking at one another, he was the first to beak the silence.

"You should have told us," spoke Kurama pacing back and forth, "that you had been poisoned by that demon."

You break the stare and look away.

"I didn't know it was so bad, I thought that I could handle it. Hiei needed attention more than I did."

"If you had fallen ill sooner, it would have left Hiei abandoned and vulnerable," replied Kurama. "Not to mention, your health and welfare are just as important as anyone else's."

"How long have I been out?" your eyes shift around the room, "Where is Hiei?"

"Hours; it is Sunday. He is with Yukina," spoke Kurama.

"Please, let me see him."

Kurama leaves and shortly returns with a whimpering Hiei, bundled up tightly. Hiei had obviously worsened while you were out. His body shook every once and a while, his complexion was pale, and his skin was cold. The Fox sits down with the child, "See, it is just as I told you, she is fine now. The venom is all gone."

Hiei pulled away the blanket that covered him up. Once your face came into view, he stopped and let out a sigh of relief.

"I am glad you are alright," said Hiei.

You nod to acknowledge the baby talk, "I am sorry for denying you what you needed, but I was afraid that if I agreed to do so, you would also be poisoned by the venom."

You turn to Kurama, "If it is not too late, I would like to offer my assistance, although…" you look down at yourself, "…I am not sure how."

"There is a Makai plant that encourages fertility and the production of milk when taken."

"Could you please retrieve some for me? I am not demon, so I may not be perfect, but I also am not human, so I may be suitable for now," you say as you again look to Hiei who defers your glance.

"I will do so gladly," said the fox smiling, "Thank you for this."

Kurama left the room with Hiei still in his arms. Hiei thought greatly on the situation. Never before has two people done so much for him. Had it been anyone else, even Mukuru, and he would have been left for dead. He did not enjoy being in this body, but at the same time, to be so cared for, it was reliving. Kurama went outside and cast some seeds on the ground below. Releasing some spirit energy, the seeds burst into fully grown plants. Carefully grasping the child, he quickly picked the largest leaves, leaving the smaller ones behind. Taking them inside, he used Genkai's pestle to grind the leaves into a paste. Hiei looked on curiously from beside him.

"How is she Kurama." ask Genkai from behind.

"She is doing well. She still shows signs of weakness, but has complied to nurse Hiei." spoke Kurama as he worked.

Genkai looked to Hiei, "You understand that she must greatly care for your existence to do such a thing. No demon would ever nurse a child that was not genetically theirs."

Hiei looked up with moist eyes and nodded.

"And you, you do realize that this will greatly diminish her energy and power, it will also cause her pain. She will lose the ability to protect herself now, so you must constantly be by her side until the others return." said Genkai.

"Yes I am aware, but it is a necessary evil. I will be there to protect both of them, till my dying breath."

The fox rose and handed the green mixture to Yukina, "Take this to her. She is to drink all of it."

Yukina bowed, taking the vile and leaving.

"What of Hiei's condition? Is there anything you can do to cure him?" questioned Kurama as he rolled his sleeves back down and lifted Hiei.

"What has happened to Hiei is extremely rare. It goes against the laws of nature and thus is not a biological condition." said Genkai.

"So no plants will help."

"They could help him, but not cure him. He would have to take an increasing regiment and even that will not be completely successful. I believe that Hiei has found himself the victim of the supernatural. And until we know who did this and what has been done, there is little hope of finding the panacea," answered Genkai as she sat down. Yukina returned.

Kurama wasted no time and left the room. The plant would need little time in the highly concentrated form he made it to be.

You head turned at the gentle rapping sound at the door.

Kurama asked through the screen, "Are you ready?"

"One moment," you replied.

You finished taking off the black turtleneck and rose to your feet. With nothing covering you, you opened the door wide enough to take Hiei from Kurama.

"Thank you." whispered the fox.

You did your best to get comfortable on the floor. Pulling Hiei into your lap, you noticed that he would not look you in the eyes. You called his name. Finally his eyes met yours.

"If you will me to not do this, I won't. I am not forcing you to do this, but I assure you, it is the only way."

Hiei's eyes watered.

"No one else need know of any of this. It can stay a secret between us."

It was true that Hiei was greatly disturbed in this body, but he was in fact crying that some living thing could show such compassion on the forbidden one. He wanted only to show how grateful he was. Reaching his arms out, he grasped your free hand and held it deep to his face and body and wept on it.

"What is it?" you ask, your own eyes tearing.

You held Hiei tightly to yourself and you both wept for some time. You managed to stop when you felt the change occurring. At first there was a tingling sensation, but that turned into a deep burning pain that inflamed your chest. You swallowed muffled a scream. Hiei looked up to you.

"Are you ready Hiei?"

He slowly nodded. You pulled off your bra and exposed your newly engorged breasts already leaking their sustenance. You guided Hiei closer to the breast, but did not force him, instead you waited for him to move.

"Please, Hiei, this causes me great discomfort…."

He did not postpone it any longer and leaned forward with his mouth opened wide. Using his tongue, he centered himself around the nipple and beagle to suckle as he would with the pacifier or the bottle. The feeling you received was ambivalent. It made you happy to see Hiei get what he needs, but it caused you ache to do this. You let your head tilt back and rest on the wall behind you. Finally, Hiei was greeted with the milk. It was much thicker than the milk and formula he had previously taken and was very sweet in comparison. In fact, Hiei quite liked the taste compared to what he was previously forced to drink. Hiei's eyes closed as he continued to feed. You slowly began to sense your energy siphon away. Slowly, the pressure was relieved as the child continued to nurse. At some point, you had to stir Hiei who had fallen asleep with one hand resting atop the breast from which he was feeding from.

"You must drink as much as you can take…" you whispered to him, repositioning him on the other breast.

He did not drink as much as you would have liked, and you were left with a sleeping Hiei nestled in your arms and a throbbing left breast. Looking at the infant in your arms, a smile crept along your face. This was very nice, even if it was artificial and temporary. The very thought of being needed, of belonging to a family was something that you never thought you would be able to comprehend, but in less than two weeks, you have breast fed, changed diapers, and cared for another being. Although you did not ask for the outcome, you found a small amount of happiness and hope that someday, this could be real for you; that you could function normally and have a bond with another spirit. Hiei stirred in his sleep.

"No," you thought, "This is all wrong. Someone like me is completely incapable of harboring any emotions like that let alone finding another who is willing to stay with someone who is so… so… flawed."

He had stopped drinking, but remained attached to you as he did with the pacifier for comfort. Finding the strength to stand, you take the sheet from the pallet on the floor which you were previously laid on in your unconscious state and cover both your body as well as Hiei's body and face. Sliding the screen door caught the attention of Kurama outside of the room, resting against the wall.

"How are you feeling? Is Hiei alright? Do you want me to take him?" asked Kurama as he rose.

"I am sore, but fine nonetheless. I think that Hiei is better now. He has stopped shaking and is asleep. And, no, I'd like to hold him a little longer." you replied calmly tightening your grip around Hiei. This did not go unnoticed by Kurama. Guiding you to the room where Genkai was casually talking to Yukina, Kurama placed a long arm around your waist.

"And here she is now," said Genkai with an expecting smile, "So, how was it? Did he put up a fight?"

"No, he was much too weak to do so. It was um… very different, although I am sure I will have to get accustomed to this," you say looking down to the bundle underneath your light covering. A dizzy spell consumed you and your intended words failed as you tried to focus. Kurama returned with your belongings.

"Now to business; Yukina has informed me that the average minimum feeding time for any demon is every one to two days. You will have to accommodate Hiei within that time span, but the more often he nurses, the better. He will begin to fall ill if he misses too many feedings. Understand that today was easy because he was too weak to fight, but later he will have full energy and do his best to resist. No matter what you have to do, you must make sure he is fed and keep him from using his Jagan. The Jagan could easily overpower him, not to mention the more he uses it, the more he will have to feed to restore his own energy supply,"

You quietly nod in reply to Master Genkai and listen carefully to all that she says. By the time Kurama and you are prepared to leave, it is very dark out. You give into letting Kurama take Hiei so you can redress yourself. Waving goodbye to Yukina at the gate, you begin your decent down the mountain side slowly. It seemed that after all of the excitement, there was nothing left to say. You avoided the taller's eye contact and realized how embarrassed you were. Why, you had no idea, but the feeling itself burned bright on your cheeks. You cleared your throat, but this in itself was not enough to rouse a conversation form the fox.

Giving in you finally say, "Kurama, I know that this is not what you wanted or ever even planned for, but I just wanted to tell you that I am very thankful that you are here and I am sure that Hiei is too."

Kurama stared at you for a moment with a look of pure confusion.

"You are thanking me? You joined our group not too long ago and willingly work to protect both the human and the demon world even though you are seen as a threat, you have taken on the amazing responsibility of protecting Hiei when he has rarely ever is cooperative with you, and you even sacrifice your own limits to care for him knowing how Hiei is normally. I am in awe that someone who has seen the worst of both humanity and demon-kind is able to be so compassionate when the world has been so cruel to you." spoke Kurama looking down, "I've never met anyone like you in all my years as a human and as a demon."

"It is not so, Kurama. I have no right to be alive given my status. I don't know why I want to help Hiei so much, but I think that seeing the worst makes me want to do something good for a change. I am not perfect and I really have no place in this world, but it feels nice to do something that matters, if even to only one person. I want to pay for the debt I have and perhaps have some hope of regaining some form of soul… But you, you Kurama have always been there to support everyone and you always manage to stay calm even when things become dire. I don't know how you handle everything so well." you say as he rearranges Hiei in his arms so he is now resting on his shoulder.

The fox looked away, "Yes, well lately it has become more difficult. I am greatly worried about Hiei's safety. Especially now that you have been debilitated by caring for Hiei, I want to be there with you incase anything happens. So until it becomes safer or we find a solution for Hiei, I will either stay with you outside of your apartment or you will reside at my home. Seeing you so dedicated in this makes me really want to see things done through the right way and I will not sacrifice the safety of either of you any longer."

"Between the two of us, Hiei is as safe as he could ever be. Not to mention he has been given a second chance to relive his childhood and although it is difficult for Hiei, perhaps enduring this and conquering this will make him a stronger and better person."

"Or it could make him burn down this city when he is normal again."

You laugh at Kurama's comment and continue walking.

"To be completely honest," you turn to face him, "for a very long time, I have been so lonely… Being sealed away and isolated from anything living was more mentally painful than anything. Physical torture cannot compare. Lately, it has been nice to be around others like normal people… I like having everyone around, it makes me feel…real."

Kurama smiled genuinely at you and continued to gently walk along the sidewalk. Your eyes find their way to the skies and you repress a sigh. Kurama handed you the child and entered your apartment, holding the door open for you while scanning the area. Without the use of lights, you make your way to the couch and recline with Hiei nuzzling your neck in his sleep. Not so far away, you can hear Kurama tinkering in the kitchen.

"Where do you keep the pans?" asked Kurama sticking his head out the door.

"Pans? Um… if I had any they would be in the cabinet to the left I suppose," you spoke as you thought about how you rarely ever used the kitchen. You only drank water or tea and ate simple meals of steamed rice. You hadn't the time to ask him why he wanted a pan when his head again disappeared and the noises continued.

"Are you allergic to anything?" questioned Kurama from the other room.

"No, not that I am currently aware of, although I think I'm allergic to Kuwabara at times." you joke aloud.

It's late and you pull yourself to your feet so that you can undress Hiei. He stirs awake while you are pulling off the onesie. Your eyes met his and after blinking a few times, his eyes go wide with fear. After realizing where he was and that you were there and ok, his face relaxed into its usual frown.

"Nani?" you ask him.

He looks away.

"Did you use your diaper?" you smile.

His face goes beet red and his frown turns to a pout.

"Oh calm down. Don't over react now." you say as you tear at the plastic tabs of the wet diaper.

You manage to change him, but not without some work. Hiei decided to regain his usual composure out of the blue and be defiant as usual; perhaps to counter act his almost unnatural behavior at Genkai's temple where he showed emotion. Triumphantly you pull on a sleeper over the fresh diaper and pick up Hiei who tried to push away. With a soft slap to his diapered butt he is silenced and is reminded of last night's promise of sweet snow. You enter the kitchen with Hiei on your hip. You are quite startled to find Kurama in front of your small stove with his long red hair tied back.

"What in Inari's name are you doing?" you ask.

Kurama turns around with a hot pan in his hands. Walking over to the table, he pours its contents onto a waiting bed of rice.

"I figured that you would be hungry after today's events, so I mixed a few things together," said the fox as he placed the pan in the sink, "It's late, put Hiei in bed and have something to eat."

Hiei huffed audibly, but after thinking for a moment and moving his mouth around, he looked strait at Kurama, "Na-oh… na-oh….noh…No!"

You looked at Hiei amazed, "You spoke!"

Hiei looked up to you now, "no, no, no."

"I am so happy for you Hiei," you said as you gently squeeze him.

"Here," Kurama held his arms open until you forfeited the child and took a seat at the table. The food looked amazing. A simple vegetable stir fry with white rice, but it smelled delicious. Kurama took Hiei to the other room and placed him in his crib by your bed. He pulled himself to a standing position and held himself there by holding onto the bars of the crib. Kurama petted Hiei's head softly and just stared at him for a while.

"Not in a thousand years would I have ever thought something like this would ever happen, not even to a person like you." Kurama looked at Hiei sincerely, "I am sorry that you are the one who has to deal with this."

Hiei looked around. Seeing no one, he quickly grasped Kurama's hand and held it to his face. After this small gesture, he released the fox's hand and plopped down on his butt and did his best to get comfortable in the atmosphere. Kurama let a smile escape himself as he pulled some toys closer to Hiei, "Just let her have some time to relax, alright?"

Hiei looked up and with his frown back in its permanent position and nodded only once. Leaving him where the child was, Kurama returned to the kitchen and sat opposite of you where he pulled the hair tie from his scarlet mane.

You were in heaven with Kurama's cooking. Never before had you tasted anything so palatable in your life and you astonished that he was able to prepare such a meal with only the ingredients that you had lying around in your kitchen.

"Are you going to have some Kurama?" you ask after swallowing a mouthful.

He smiled and nodded, then proceeded to spoon some onto a plate for himself.

"I had no idea that you knew how to cook so well." you complimented the fox, only stopping to add more rice to your plate.

"Yes, well, I would have liked to have added some meat or fish, but you did not have any here at the present."

You were a little embarrassed at the statement, "It does not last very long. I only keep things that do not spoil rapidly."

Tomorrow, we can go to the market if it is nice out."

Together, you finished all of what Kurama had prepared and held small talk for some time, before you stood up to wash the dishes. Kurama cut you off mid-sentence as he whisked the dirty plates and utensils away and washed them himself. You look at him confused.

"Tea?"

"Uh, no thank you. The meal was amazing. Thank you for cooking and cleaning." you answer to him as you both enter the bed room. You walk over to the crib only to find Hiei quietly playing with some of the toys Kurama had given him. Seeing you, he cast them aside with a blush and pretended to fumble with his fingers.

"Are you alright Hiei?" you ask as you approach him, "Do you feel ill again?"

"Noha." Hiei huffed.

"Alright then." you say as you dip to pick him up. Hiei didn't resist. You re-enter the kitchen and when Hiei sees that you are heading to the fridge, he cannot contain himself. Kurama laughs at the child's giggles and watches as you prepare Hiei's favorite thing in the whole world. You hand one bowl to the fox and you carry the other one with Hiei to go sit on the couch. You have to keep pulling Hiei back, whose hand keeps wondering to the ice cream in an attempt to steal it from right under your nose. Kurama sits with you and you place Hiei onto your lap. Before you feed him any, you set the bowl aside. With this action, Hiei's face falls and a small growl can be heard.

"Hiei, who is that?" you ask as you point to Kurama.

"What do you think you're doing woman? I will not play your game!" he spits at you.

"If you can say his name, you can have all the ice cream you want."

Hiei's eyes lit up. Fighting off a blush, he focuses his mouth and makes random sounds to see if any of them sound familiar. Different sounds like "oo," "bree," "ga," and "faa" emerge. Finally, Hiei makes a "ra" sound which clicks in his mind as a part of Ku"ra"ma. Now his brain fought to remember what else there was. It's not that he didn't know, it was that it was hard to make his body react the way he wanted in his form.

"nam… ranam…ma….ma….Rama!"

Kurama and you were full of laughter at the spectacle. Hiei frowned, but kept saying, "Rama, rama, rama."

Still laughing Kurama said, "That is very good for his first attempt. I think he deserves his reward."

"Rama!" Hiei smiled and you began to feed the child some ice cream. For a moment, everything seemed pleasant. Kurama and you relaxed and chatted, while Hiei was completely entertained by his ice cream. It was late when the call came. Both you and Kurama looked to one another on the first ring. Hiei, still with his smile, looked around as he tried to lick the smeared ice cream off his face. Kurama was the one who answered the phone. You watched on nervously as Kurama nodded a few times then hung up.

"The mission has been completed. They will be returning tomorrow night."

Hiei froze. He fully understood what the fox was trying to put gently. They had less than 24 hours to fix him or face the unbearable shame. Hiei was beside himself and he quickly analyzed what he had become.

~crash!~

Hiei threw the bowl with the leftover ice cream in it. It hit the wall and shattered into bits and pieces.

"Hiei!" Kurama yells, "That was uncalled for and you know it!"

Hiei could not contain his anger, and just as every other emotion translated to, he began crying and screaming. He kicked his legs and flung his arms.

Kurama took Hiei and quickly placed him in the crib without further explanation. Still sitting on the small couch when Kurama returned, you found yourself asking so many questions.

"Kurama, what are we going to do? We cannot let the others see him like this." you whispered as if someone could hear.

"There is really nothing we can do. Spirit World has been searching and working on a cure since we first contacted Lord Koenma. Genkai is unable to cure him and none of my plants will work either. Yusuke and Kuwabara will eventually learn of what's happened, but it is inevitable. We need the Intel they have in order to save Hiei. They might know what those demons were working with in the Black Market." Kurama spoke.

You rose and went to where the floor was covered in glass so that you could begin to clean it, "What will become of Hiei then?"

"Hiei will still have to be cared for, especially now. If anyone did know about him, they would strike while he is like this."

Kurama watched you carefully as you picked up each sliver of glass, regardless of the fact that some sliced your skin. A sudden rush or memories flooded the fox's brain. Memories of his mother, back when he was no more than a human child, with the cuts on her hands, after saving his own life. Seeing this, made Kurama realize something.

You were about to ask another question when you felt a sudden spark of energy influx. You looked around the room and realized whose energy signal it was. Kurama experienced it too as his body naturally poised itself to sense it. It was then that you realized Hiei had stopped his tantrum and it was silent. Dropping the bits of glass, you run to your bedroom only to find Hiei in his crib, with his back facing you. You reach in and with your right hand; you turn the child around to see the Jagan wide open with Hiei's natural eyes rolled back.

"Hiei!" you scream aloud.

With your left hand, you sternly slap Hiei on the bottom. He began to regain some sense of conscienceless as his eyes open. The Jagan looked as if it were about to close when…

You could hear the echoes of Kurama's scream.

~FLASH~

~~cue end theme!~~


	8. Chapter 8, The Mind

WARNING: Not responsible for any cases of shortness of breath, constipation, heart attack, blindness, AIDS, cancer, deftness, ADD, ADHA, loss of erection, stunting of growth, broken bones, dry skin, water eyes, thinness of blood, dyslexia, loss of hair/baldness, death due to shock, loss of bladder control, premarital sex, an erection that lasts more then 4 to 7 hours, heat stroke, gas/flatulence, D.U.I, Murder, herpes, sleep deprivation, nausea, a sudden urge to dance like a white guy, heart burn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea, crabs, yeast infections, warts, acne, pimples, zits, puberty, unexpected pregnancies, and any other sexually transmitted diseases.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the YYH characters mentioned here because they belong to Yoshihiro Togashi-sama.

I own nothing, but the non-YYH characters mentioned and the all around plot. Everything else is strictly borrowed for mere entertainment.

~Cue theme song!~

You are nearly blinded by the light. It takes time for your eyes to adjust, but when they do, you realize that there is nothing. The room is gone, Kurama is gone, and there is darkness with an eerie purple haze covering everything. You hear a noise and manage to stand on your legs. Calculating each step as you move, the sound gradually grows louder as you approach its source. Among the mist and haze, a flicker of pale light emerges. Kneeling closer, Hiei's crying face comes into view. You do not touch him but quietly sit there, contemplating what to do. Eventually, his cries soften.

"This is unfair! I have done nothing to deserve this damnation and yet no matter how I resist it, there is no escape! I would choose death than live any longer like this!" cried Hiei.

Awestruck, you stare in amazement that you could clearly understand everything that Hiei was saying.

"I hate all of this! And no one understands! I am a fool for thinking that this could all be resolved. It would be easier to just die! That way she and Kurama would no longer have to endure my presence as a burden any longer!"

"You shouldn't say such things…" you quietly respond.

Hiei's eyes dart to you, equally as surprised as you were of him.

"What…."

"I said, you shouldn't say such things when you clearly do not understand the situation." you reply.

"You can hear me?" inquired the stunned demon.

Ignoring the question, you continue with, "If that is how you truly feel, then perhaps you have lost all of your strength and it will never return, because the Hiei I know would by no means submit to anyone. Only a person who is weak would make such a cowardly decision because they are afraid of anything else."

Now Hiei was mad, "I am not weak and I am not afraid of anything! I'm just…"

"Well?"

Hiei looked away, "All of this is incredibly frustrating. Someone like you would never understand."

"And how is that, Hiei? I am not ignorant of your past and know well how you suffer, but apparently, you know not of my own. Have you already forgotten how I was born and grew in confinement out of fear of what I was and malice from my own kin? I was sealed away into darkness with no hope for years. Had the seal not been broken, I'd not have been here today. And even after that, I was received with pain and hatred. The abuse turned me into something worse than a demon or a human, and for that I have no place in this world or in death. How are we so different Hiei, because from my point of view, you are the closest like me out of everyone I have ever met."

Hiei was again silent. Taking a moment to reflect on his own past, he felt himself beginning to cry again. He leaned away from you as his body quietly shook. You pick the child up as he refused and held him to your body as you did the first time you had met him in this form. He resisted for only a little before giving in.

"Hiei, what I am trying to say is that you will always have a common alley in me and I have no reason to ever hurt you. What we have both survived in the past is more than what most people endure in a lifetime, so whatever may come; we will both become stronger from. There is no obstacle, however great, that can compare to our potential."

Looking down at Hiei, you notice that his size is changing. Little by little, he is becoming older, but does not seem to realize it himself as he continues to speak.

"And of tomorrow? How will I endure the shame then?" he asks in a teenage voice already deep with the sounds of maturity but still young as his tears continued.

"It will come and pass. Yes, it will be embarrassing, but without other people knowing the problem, we won't be able to find a solution. And even if it gets too out of control, I am always happy to find a reason to beat up Kuwabara anyway."

Hiei smirked. By now his body was that of the state he was usually in; his arms and legs firm with muscles, his skin bearing the scars of many a battle, and even his voice had its past qualities of being deep with a little raspiness when speaking in his characteristic tone. Still in this form, you clung to him as he was as a child, gently running your fingers through his hair. You held him and took in every detail of his presence as if you would never see or feel the mirage again.

"So this is your mind…"

"What is left of it," he responds.

"And do you plan to hold me here for eternity as your prisoner?" you question.

"Perhaps. I do believe that I am entitled to some revenge after what you and the fox put me through." he smirks.

"Kurama will not like that."

"To Hell with him then." scoffed Hiei before he returned to a more serious voice, "I have never brought someone into my own mind. I am more used to probing others."

"It isn't that bad." you comment.

"No, it is nice for once."

You look down at Hiei, who realizes that everything he thinks is now audible for you to hear.

"You should leave."

You nod in reply. Before being released, you realize that you were not just holding Hiei, he was also holding you.

The trance had been broken and the brightness of the room softly warmed your skin. Peeling your eyes open, you are greeted by a blur of red and green. Your eyes focused more and Kurama's worried face came into view.

"How are you feeling?" questioned Kurama as the cool compress on your forehead was removed.

You remained quiet as you tried to register everything that happened with those hours. Finally understanding, your face held the question for the fox to see.

"He is asleep as you were. What did he do to you? If he tried to harm you, you must be honest because it is a breech in his parole to ever attack an innocent without reason."

You shook your head, "no."

"So what happened then?"

"He tried to use his Jagan and it backfired. Instead of entering our minds, he took me into his without any control. He had no bad intentions, I think that he was just aggravated and wanted to talk."

Kurama eyed you suspiciously.

"I am fine, honestly." you fake a smile.

The good hearted fox believes you and allows you to get off the couch. You stand and found the energy to stretch a little, being stiff from not moving.

"They will be back at twelve tonight and wish to convene at Genkai's," Kurama states.

You look him in the eye, "You will go and gather information, and I will stay here with Hiei."

"You know that I cannot let you do that. If someone were to…"

"It was not a question or an option Kurama. I refuse to attend tonight." you say turning away, "Hiei is clearly not ready for it and if I can buy him only a night more of peace, then let me have that. It will not harm us in any way."

Kurama lets out a sigh and you take the silent victory.

"I am beginning to believe that you are becoming too attached to Hiei."

"Is that a bad thing?" you question

"Not necessarily, but…"

"Then I am not worried or concerned," you say as you walk into the bathroom and close the door behind you. A hot shower and brushing your hair out leave you feeling refreshed. With a towel tightly around your waist, you walk into you adjacent room and enter the closet. You pull out a light under kimono and a thicker top layer. They were dark neutral tones, with very little embroidery. After putting on the essentials, you slip into both kimonos, one after the other. After tying the first one closed, you fold the flaps of the top one over your chest and tie together the cords. Lastly, you wrap the corresponding obi around your waist twice before securing it loosely behind you. Leaving the closet, you walk into your bed room, where Kurama is waiting for you. In his hand is a piece of paper.

"I am going to go shopping now so that you will not run out of supplies tonight. Is there anything else, you need?" he asks.

"umm…. sake would be nice." you say as you cross the room to the bookcase where you store your money. Pulling out more than enough to cover the groceries, you hand the bills to Kurama, who after some argument finally takes them.

"You know you can't drink while you are…" he mentions.

"Yes, I figured that. The alcohol is for you..."

Smiling, he leaves after putting on his coat. Listening for any indication of movement, you make your way to the bedroom, where Hiei's crib is. Now fully in view, you can see that Kurama had laid him gently down and covered him up with a warm blanket, leaving only the demon's face exposed. Hiei, who was half awake, half asleep, laid there in a stupor, not making any effort to move or speak. Leaning over the bars, you comment on Hiei's state, "This is what you get for using you Jagan. You should be glad that you are not dead because of it. How do you feel?"

Hiei closes his eyes; rather, he lets them close, now irritated by your sight. You lift him out of the crib, still wrapped in the blanket left by Kurama. Taking him to the chair by the window, you sit and place him in your lap. For some time, you just sit there, quietly stroking his hair as you did when you were in his mind. Hiei was nearly asleep when you stir him back to consciousness. You pull down the loose side of your kimono, revealing your chest a little above Hiei's head. Hiei sees the breast and realizes that he is quite hungry and the only way to retain energy fast enough is though you. He decides to reposition himself so that his head is facing you. Lifting him a little higher, you feel him latch on greedily and nurse from you. Finally becoming accustomed to the feeling once again, you relax in the chair and let Hiei feed as he wishes. Your free hand strokes his back and Hiei does not seem to be irritated any more as he is now focused on filling himself. Resting your head back, you try your best to recall anything about the mission a few weeks earlier.

_The night was a chill one and it was a minor, but significant burden on the three of you. Taking a final look on the map, the coordinates having been repositioned many times, you each prepared to enter the final building together, after each conquering a smaller fortress without aid. This final one was not expected to be here though. Entering it proved an easier task then expected. You had planned on doing it together considering that each of you was seriously injured while completing the solo parts of the mission. Hiei had forced you and Kurama to take the station to the north, instead of the west because if he had to share the one to the west, it would not be as, "entertaining." Now approaching this building in the east, unexpected, everyone was tired and only wanted to finish the mission as soon as they could, including the exhausted looking Hiei who managed to arrive before anyone else even though he had more of a challenge then you and Kurama. The fortress to the west had double the enemies stationed there, thus why you and Kurama were sent to destroy it, but Hiei had only little trouble wiping everyone out. Entering the building, you soon learned that no one was there. It contained blueprints and lots of experimental equipment with cryptic writing everywhere, but not a body in sight. It reeked of dead bodies, but none were found, and no dust or spider webs were found. _

"_Everything here was in use recently, these are still warm" spoke Kurama as he placed his hand onto some of the foreign machines and materials._

_You nod in agreement, "So if there is no one here, do we treat this place the same way we have the others?"_

"_Just blow it up," spat Hiei turning around to exit the giant building. _

_Of course Hiei would leave the demeaning work to the two of you, but it was easier than fighting with him trying to force him into doing it. Shortly, you and Kurama finish and are able to exit to meet up with Hiei, who is resting against the building casually, cursing us for taking our times._

…_.you regain focus…_

Seeing that Hiei was resting quietly, you let your own eyes close and tried not to think of how difficult things will become…

An hour or so later and you manage to peel your eyes open again.

Falling back into reality, you blink a few times, realizing that Hiei is starring at you in the eyes, a thing that in his older form may have killed you, but now seemed curious and inquisitive. He had stopped nursing and just lay there looking at you.

Finding words, "Are you alright Hiei?"

It seems that your words snapped him out of his daze and he first shook his head before he corrected himself by nodding. Even weakened by Hiei, you could still hear footsteps and rustling in the hall. Kurama was back. Seeing that Hiei was no longer interested in feeding, you manage to tie your obi tighter and close the open folds of material. He only drank from one breast, leaving the other one still very engorged. It made it feel like that side of your body was on fire. Picking Hiei up, you take him to the door and open it for Kurama, who steps in without his usual smile or façade.

"He is thinking about the meeting tonight. Someone contacted him." you decide mentally.

"How are you feeling?" he asks you.

"Fine."

"And Hiei?" he asks

Looking down, you can see that he is out of it again.

"Fine."

Kurama busies himself with unpacking everything purchased and you leave the room to put Hiei down. Instead of the crib, you lay out a blanket on the floor with some small toys on it and arrange Hiei in a more comfortable position. With a pet to the head, you stand up and return back to the room with Kurama.

"What has Koenma said? I know that you have spoken to him."

Letting out a sigh, Kurama puts down the items in his hands, "Yusuke and Kuwabara found tunnels, none of which lead to the two designated building at the south or north. They all lead east. The buildings that were taken out were decoys for whatever was in the third building. The trip wire had to have come from the fortress in the west because of how many people were there, plus a smaller tunnel stretches from the west all of the way to the east. No one was in the last building because they knew we were coming and left, taking whatever they had intended to hide. We fell right into their trap!"

Irritated, Kurama sat at the table with his head in his hands, "All of this could have been avoided had we thought everything out and if Hiei had just stuck to the plan. If I could have seen that building with my own eyes, I would have realized this sooner and Hiei would not be in his condition. I could have prevented all of this!"

"You're wrong. What happened was unavoidable. It is no coincidence that this has happened. If you had gone there, then what if whatever was done on Hiei was done to you?"

"Nothing. I would have just reverted into Yoko Kurama. This is my fault and I have jeopardized everything because of it," spoke Kurama coldly.

"It is not your fault, Kurama. What has been done is done and the only thing that we can do is focus on fixing it. We can't concentrate on the past." you say quietly sitting at the table as well.

"You're wrong." Kurama stood up.

You gave him a confused look.

"We had to empty out the buildings and set the detonators for the first three buildings so that when Yusuke was done all four could be taken down. That means I have nine hours until they demolish the buildings. That is just enough time for me to see what Hiei has seen and possibly figure out what has been done to him."

"But Koenma…."

"He does not need to know. He wouldn't allow any of us to return, so I must leave without him knowing." said Kurama.

"Then I'm coming with you!" you cry out.

"NO!" screamed Kurama, out of his usual tone," You must not. I have already asked too much of you and you have been greatly weakened by caring for Hiei. You make sure he is safe and protect him while I am gone."

"But…."

"Please, just do this for me."

You nod submissively.

Putting his jacket back on Kurama leaves just as you can here crying in the other room.

"Kurama!" you call out.

He turns to look at you.

"Please come back soon." you mumble.

He nods and fakes a smile before turning and running away.

Returning to the apartment, you go to see Hiei, who is hysterical now.

In between sentences of gibberish and tears you can make out, "Rama, Rama! Noah, Rama! No-ah!"

~Kurama, you fool! You can't go! Don't leave! It's not safe there! Kurama, Please!~

You pick up the crying child and do your best to comfort him, praying that this will all be over soon.

"C'mon Hiei. We're leaving too. I didn't want to do this, but now we have to."

Hiei continues his cries, but tries listens to you.

"I know you heard his plan, and I don't want him to go either, so we have to tell the others at that meeting tonight. I was planning on not going and having Kurama go instead, but now that he is determined to do it this way, we too must alter our plans. Koenma is going to destroy those buildings with Kurama inside if we don't find a way to tell them. Maybe someone could go with him or at least persuade him not to go."

Hiei, sniffling and crying, nods, understanding what is being asked of him.

"Hiei, I am sorry, really I am."

He again nods, but this time points to his clothes.

You were about to ask, when you figured that he was being asked to be changed. Putting him on your bed, you quickly change his dirty diaper and dress him in black pajamas. Grabbing your satchel, you fill it with supplies to last a few days. Not enough time for you to change your own clothing, but you decide to take a couple of weapons with you, in case you are asked to go too. You attach a few daggers to your thighs and let the fabric of your kimono cover them and place a few items into your sleeves. You manage to attach everything securely to your back and turn to Hiei. You wrap him up tightly before sliding him into the top fold of your kimono and tightening everything around him, that way you only needed one hand to support him if you need to attack or defend yourself. Closing your eyes, you tried to sense how far away Kurama was. It was hard, not having all of your energy, but you could at least tell that he was far enough to not notice you leaving the area. You locked the door from the inside and went to the window of your bedroom. Without looking behind you, you slipped out, and began running as fast as you could, leaping from tree to telephone pole, moving as fast as you could without being spotted by any onlookers. You could feel Hiei cling to you as your heartbeat increased with each step. Things were drastically different, without all of your energy, but you pushed on and made it to Genkai's faster than usual. Banging on the great doors, you gasped for air. Yukina answered, but you rushed in the second the door was opened and looked around for Genkai. You found her standing from her seat in the hall with the giant statue at the far end.

"What is it? What's wrong?" she screamed, immediately sensing the danger that you brought along.

~~cue end theme!~~


	9. Chapter 9, The Return

WARNING: Not responsible for any cases of shortness of breath, constipation, heart attack, blindness, AIDS, cancer, deftness, ADD, ADHA, loss of erection, stunting of growth, broken bones, dry skin, water eyes, thinness of blood, dyslexia, loss of hair/baldness, death due to shock, loss of bladder control, premarital sex, an erection that lasts more then 4 to 7 hours, heat stroke, gas/flatulence, D.U.I, Murder, herpes, sleep deprivation, nausea, a sudden urge to dance like a white guy, heart burn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea, crabs, yeast infections, warts, acne, pimples, zits, puberty, unexpected pregnancies, and any other sexually transmitted diseases.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the YYH characters mentioned here because they belong to Yoshihiro Togashi-sama.

I own nothing, but the non-YYH characters mentioned and the all around plot. Everything else is strictly borrowed for mere entertainment.

~Cue theme song!~

"Gasp…gasp… It's Kurama…Gasp…He has left for Demon world! Gasp…. Koenma doesn't know!" you manage out, trying to regain yourself, "he spoke to someone earlier about the first part of the mission and went to go inspect the buildings before they are detonated and Koenma doesn't know yet. If there were any surrounding enemies, he doesn't have any back up either!"

Genkai's face betrayed her emotions, and you knew immediately that she too was worried.

You could feel Hiei shake with every word you screamed.

"Where are the others?" you cry.

"They haven't returned to the checkpoint yet, but if Kurama were to leave the Ningenkai, he would surly meet with them."

"He made it clear that he is going at it alone! He will use a different path! Please, will you protect Hiei?!"

You didn't wait for her response before you began unloading everything that you brought with you.

Genkai looked confused again, "You cannot go like this! If Kurama trusted you enough to tell you that has left, then he is capable of handling this on his own. You must stay."

"He only asked that I care and protect Hiei, not that I could not leave. He is safer here then in demon world, so I want to have him where it is secure. Demons never venture far into these surrounding woods like they do where I am from, I need you to look after Hiei and keep him safe from harm until I can return with Kurama securely."

Hiei heard this and began to cry again softly. Pulling him from your body, you hold him in your arms as you speak, "This is the only place where I know that no harm will come to him. Please…."

"Fine, we'll watch the twerp, if you promise to take one of the other idiots with you." spoke Genkai in her raspy voice.

You nod. Hiei's cries become louder, "No-ah… peas….No-ah…"

He reaches his hands up to your face and pulls himself closer to your forehead. Confused at first, you allow him until your foreheads are torching.

At first it sounded like a whisper, but it grew a little louder,

"Please, you must not go, it isn't safe there." spoke Hiei mentally.

Shocked, you gasped, "Hiei, you should not be doing that, you'll make yourself ill!"

Hiei began to cry again, grasping your hair to hold onto, as if it would tether you to the spot.

"Hiei, I have to go. Kurama may need me, but don't worry, we will both be back. I promise. I promise. Everything will be fine, and we can even have some sweet snow if you are kind to Genkai and Yukina when they care for you," you whispered to him.

Hiei rolled his eyes at your attempt at a bribe. Hiei seemed composed enough for you to leave until you put him into Yukina's arms. Bowing to Genkai before you left, you could hear Hiei screaming your name as you ran out of the building. What shocked you most is that you didn't realize how hard it would be to separate yourself from Hiei. It did hurt to leave him. As you ran in the direction of the portal you though about what the fox had said earlier:

"_I am beginning to believe that you are becoming too attached to Hiei." spoke Kurama_

"_Is that a bad thing?" you question_

"_Not necessarily, but…"_

"_Then I am not worried or concerned," you responded._

Perhaps it was something to be worried about. Kurama wouldn't have said it unless it was imperative. But that was something that you could figure out later, for now; you had to focus on getting to the Makai in time.

…

"This is stupid, what the hell is going on that we have to see grandma right after a mission. This is bull shit!" complained Yusuke walking through the woods of the Makai.

"Shut up Urameshi! This is our responsibility to report to Master Genkai's, and I the Great Kazuma Kuwabara will never fail in the upholding of this great honor!" proclaimed Kuwabara.

"Yeah, and I bet Yukina has _nothing_ to do with this _great honor_…" mumble Yusuke.

"What'd you say 'bout Yukina? My Yukina? The beautiful, wonderful Yukina? Who will only chose the most worthy warrior, myself, as her husband! Her love fuels my passion…" Kuwabara continued to trail off onto one of his famous rants.

Yusuke's face became serious.

"Kuwabara."

He stopped and turned around.

"You feel that? It's her, let's go," said Yusuke as he blasted into a run.

Kuwabara nodded and followed suit.

It didn't take long until Yusuke was in your sights. Relieved, you collapsed onto the ground and waited to catch your breath.

"Hey!" screamed Kuwabara ten feet away.

You already felt your head begin to hurt from his voice….

Yusuke looked serious but still said, "You lost lady? The mall is that way."

You frowned at him, but he still took a knee in front of you.

"What's going on?"

"Kurama has returned to fortress 89'59" to investigate without Koenma's knowledge. Those buildings are going to be detonated in an hour." you spit out.

"What? What the hell does fox boy think he's doing?" complained Yusuke.

You then realized that they didn't know about what had happened to Hiei all of this time.

"Well, something took place there… and um… Hiei sort of got injured there, but that's because he switched buildings with Kurama, so…I think Kurama feels responsible for it…so he wants to go look to see what is there… so he can fix Hiei." you managed out.

~cue Yusuke and Kuwabara anime collapse~

"That's all? Why the hell would he risk himself over something that stupid? Hiei'll be fine. He sleeps and then he is back to normal. He heals almost as fast as I do! What is Kurama worried about?" laughed Yusuke.

You became frustrated, "It doesn't matter! Kurama is in danger still, so I need you to come with me!"

You point to Kuwabara, "You, go back to the human world and guard Genkai's, but don't go inside!"

"What? Why?" he asks.

"Just do it!" you scream and continue running in direction of the building.

Yusuke easily caught up to you and grabbed you by the arm.

"You're not telling me something. I don't like secrets. Spill," spoke Yusuke.

You let out a sigh.

"Something in that building changed Hiei and not even Koenma can fix it. If Kurama goes, he might suffer the same fate or just not survive the explosion," you let out.

"Well, when you put it like that, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" said Yusuke

You nod and both of you start running in the correct direction.

…..

Hiei let one more sniffle escape him before he turned to face anyone. Genkai had let him sit on the floor earlier, so he had made his way into the corner while he was crying. It was bad enough that he couldn't help what he was doing, but he refused to have spectators. He had no wish to be in this place, or any other place while in this condition. He only wanted to be at your apartment, where he was safe from the ridicule and embarrassment. Genkai just sat at her spot, sifting through the items you had left behind. Yukina entered with a worried expression.

"Do you think she made it to the others by now, Master Genkai?" she asked with the smallest shake in her voice.

Genkai nodded, "They have been in worse situations. I'm sure they will all be fine."

"But she looked so weak, almost human…." replied the soft ice maiden.

This caught Hiei's attention. He hadn't realized until now that he was not the only one who has changed. Thinking about you, he pictured how you went from a highly skilled fighter, to something capable of being gentle and nurturing. He had been complaining all of this time about how it was difficult on him, when he had not even considered how the others might have felt.

"She has become weak, hasn't she…" thought Hiei, "What if she doesn't make it back?"

Hiei's eyes began to water a little.

"Yes, well she has proven to be just as strong as the others, even stronger in some cases. Looks are deceiving; you cannot measure fortitude." spoke Genkai looking back at Yukina.

She nodded in affirmation. Genkai then turned her attention to Hiei.

"Get over here shrimp."

Hiei looked back to her.

"You heard me!" snapped Genkai, moderately irritated.

Hiei complied, and repeated his sloppy crawl to Genkai. When he was close enough, she rested one of her weathered hands atop his head, "Don't worry, she will be fine." Hiei wiped his eyes and nodded.

"Yukina, please go get some warm milk."

Yukina bowed and then left the room.

"Gosh, look at ya. I never though I would see the day where the mighty Hiei would be so humbled."

Hiei frowned hard.

"You like her, don't you?" asked Genkai, smiling.

Hiei shook his head, "No-ah!"

Genkai could not resist and gave into the laughter, "Now that's two things I'd never had expected from you!"

"Hn."

Yukina returned to the room with a small kettle. After handing it to Genkai, who poured it into one of the bottles provided, and adding a few spoons of formula, a bottle was made for Hiei. She handed it to him, but he cast it aside. How could he even think about feeding when so much was at risk? It had been hours since she left and he would never find out if she made it or not, in time for him to do something about it. Genkai replaced the bottle into his hands, which again, put the bottle aside.

"There are plenty of other ways I can force this into you Hiei, so stop being difficult!" yelled Genkai.

"Master, may I?" asked Yukina.

"Yeah, knock yourself out." she replied.

Yukina walked over to Hiei and gently picked him up as well as the bottle and carried the two to her seat. Her hands were a little cold, but Hiei kind of liked it. Yukina repositioned him so that he was lying in her arms and she held the bottle above his mouth. Hiei didn't know what to do. He didn't want to eat, but he couldn't say no to his sister.

"Please?" her voice sounded like chimes, and he quickly surrendered by opening his mouth. This was the closest he had ever been to his little…well for now, his older sister. She didn't know about him and Hiei was content with that remaining so. Had it not been for the love he had for his sister, perhaps Hiei could have fought off the sleep more effectively.

….

"You gonna make it kid?" called Yusuke, a great distance ahead of you.

You don't respond, only focusing on keeping your pace, even if it is slower than his.

He makes it to there long before you do, but together, you enter the dark building. On guard, you carefully maneuver through empty rooms without any light source. Seconds before entering the final door, you feel something wrap around your waist, jerking you upwards. Using the momentum, you reach for a dagger and slice it away, allowing you to drop the ground, but not before you throw the dagger at Yusuke. Not blinking, Yusuke doges it and was about to complain, when the dagger embedded itself into another vine inches from Yusuke's neck. You did not have a chance to brace yourself for the fall though. Hitting the ground with a thud, you attempt to get back up.

"Kurama! I know you are here! Show yourself! There isn't much time left before we are all killed!" Yusuke called out, helping you to your feet.

Yusuke begin to look around when you notice that everything is empty; the rooms the shelves, everything. Before there were furniture and books and machinery, but this time no. Everything was gone.

"Yusuke! Show me those tunnels!" you ask.

"This way," he says, leading you down the lower stairs and through a faux wall.

"How did you ever find this?"

"See, well… Kuwabara and I had a little too much fun taking down one of the final three, so we gave him a head start and then went after him. We sort of followed him here." said Yusuke.

"Barbaric," you mutter.

Entering into the tunnel, you can tell that Kurama is near, even without your senses because of the number of strange plants around every corner.

"Hurry! This way!" you cry out as you follow the plants in a twisted and intermingled pattern. The end of it expanses out into a huge room made of solid rock.

You cover your nose, "It smells of death in here."

Taking a step into the room, Yusuke freezes.

Looking at him, "What's wrong?"

"Shit! We've entered someone's territory I think. This area... It's like it is concentrated with energy, but definitely not demonic. Different. Be careful, I'm going to see how far this extends."

Looking at the ground, you can see the carvings in stone. Intricate patterns cover every inch of the room. Moving deeper into the room, a shape in the center of the room becomes visible. It looked like a body and the worst thoughts entered your brain.

"No…." you whisper bending to touch the limp body in the center of the room when you felt the presence behind you. Turning quickly to strike its face, both hands are grabbed and twisted so that you are now face to face with the assailant. The tightening of the grip causes you to drop your weapons. You were going to scream to Yusuke, when you remembered the scent…

"Kurama?" you gasp, trying to discern the attacker.

A low growl was heard and an unfamiliar voice spoke, "What the Hell do you think you are doing here?"

This was not Kurama. You immediately started to struggle to free yourself from this stranger. His grasp on you tightened and you cried out in pain.

"Do you honestly think you can beat me woman?" laughed the voice.

"No, but at least I will die trying." you spat back.

"Honor means nothing… especially to someone like you."

"You don't know anything about me. Now let me go, so I can kill you!" taking the moment to ready yourself, you kick with your back leg, aiming for his face.

He releases your wrists, but the easily grabs your ankle, spinning the room upside down. The fabric of your Kimono falls slightly and reveals the leftover dagger, secured to your thigh. He removes it easily and releases you, but not before inhaling your scent.

"So what he told me is true then, the heir to Mukuru has been incapacitated and you are now his keeper. You smell of milk and child," spoke the demon, "You were told to stay back and protect him, but instead you snuck away like a filthy human."

"You bastard! I am no human and I didn't run away! I am here to help my friend Kurama and if that means killing you, then so be it!" you scream loud enough for Yusuke to hear and you take an offensive stance.

The demon laughed loudly and whole heartedly and with each time, you could feel its warm breath on your face. You try to focus any energy you have left, but nothing will materialize. Unexpectedly, the earth beneath you begins to quake violently. You are forced to grasp onto the wall to keep from being shaken around as well.

Suddenly, you can hear Yusuke's voice, "Hey! We gotta get out of here! The first two building have been detonated! Let's go!"

Not even caring about the person in front of you, you reply, "We can't yet! Kurama has to be in this building somewhere. He wouldn't have still been in the others all of this time! I won't leave until I know he is safe!"

The man in front of you grabs you violently, just as the ground erupts into more quakes and drags you out of the room into the one before it, where there is some light. For the first time, you can see who was after you. Silver hair, golden eyes, white clothes…who could this be?

"Stop resisting baka, I'm trying to help you!" yelled the man.

"No! Please, we have to help him…Kurama!" you scream, hoping he would hear your calls and respond.

All you can hear is Yusuke, screaming as he approached. You had thought that when he would see the stranger that Yusuke would attack, but instead he smiled, "Long time, no see Fox boy!"

The man smirked, "Detective."

"Well, I hate to cut it short, but let's get out of here unless you'd like to see how long you can hold your breath for." laughed Yusuke as he grabbed you and swung you into his arms. The group then continued to the exit. You fought back tears, "But…what about Kurama… Yusuke, what about Kurama?"

Everyone managed to escape the building, and continued to run. Yusuke only stopped and found cover for you, once it was far enough. The group sat, using the area's geography for protection. He tried to prevent you from looking by holding on, but you pulled away and watched as the building collapsed. It felt like a part of you died. The earth tremored loudly and near by creatures fled away at the sound. Standing on your on, you began to run back to the area.

"Maybe he was able to escape…" you thought.

The man in white side swiped you and pulled you back. With nimble hands he slipped a small seed into your mouth and it quickly dissolved. Weak and full of despair, you succumbed to the darkness and were eventually unconscious.

"So, what now detective? Shuichi did not exactly leave instructions when he left." spoke the Kitsune.

"We go back to the Ningenkai, to the temple." said Yusuke, rising to his feet, "Will she be alright? She obviously has no clue who you are," the smirk was broad on his face.

"She is just sleeping. They fight less when they are unconscious."

Yusuke smiled, "Yeah, well I've heard about your reputation Yoko, so don't get any dirty thoughts about this one. She's full of surprises."

They both laughed. Yusuke bent to pick up you cataleptic body when the man stepped in front of him, "I think Shuichi wanted me to take her back."

Yusuke shrugged, seeing no danger in it and allowed the taller to take custody of you into his long arms. Stirring in your sleep, you mumble Kurama's name and the man holding you doest not restrain his smile.

"C'mon, before she wakes up," said the spirit detective, "At least I can run at full strength with you and not have to worry about losing you like I did with her."

"Oh, quite the contrary." smirked the other as he shifted into an incredible run.

Yusuke laughed and followed, easily catching up and almost surpassing him.

~~cue end theme!~~


	10. Chapter 10, The Transformation Again

WARNING: Not responsible for any cases of shortness of breath, constipation, heart attack, blindness, AIDS, cancer, deftness, ADD, ADHA, loss of erection, stunting of growth, broken bones, dry skin, water eyes, thinness of blood, dyslexia, loss of hair/baldness, death due to shock, loss of bladder control, premarital sex, an erection that lasts more then 4 to 7 hours, heat stroke, gas/flatulence, D.U.I, Murder, herpes, sleep deprivation, nausea, a sudden urge to dance like a white guy, heart burn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea, crabs, yeast infections, warts, acne, pimples, zits, puberty, unexpected pregnancies, and any other sexually transmitted diseases.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the YYH characters mentioned here because they belong to Yoshihiro Togashi-sama.

I own nothing, but the non-YYH characters mentioned and the all around plot. Everything else is strictly borrowed for mere entertainment.

~Cue theme song!~

"Huh? Ok… yeah… oh…. hm, ok. Thanks Urameshi." Kuwabara closed the communicator. He had been walking aimlessly around the perimeter of Genkai's Temple. He decided to go inside and tell everyone (meaning Yukina) the good news. After making his way to the front of the property, he knocked at the great doors. Moments later, Genkai appeared, looking quite irritated.

"What do you want Kuwabara?" she asked, holding her temper back.

"Well, I just got word from Yusuke and he's just got out of Demon World and will be here soon." replied the orange haired oaf.

"And what does that have to do with your incessant knocking? If you wake Hiei, I swear I will wring your neck." glared the older woman.

"Well I just wanted to tell you that…"

"You are not the only one with a communicator." spoke Genkai holding hers out for the taller to see.

"Oh, well… so you already knew then?"

Genkai nodded.

"Sheesh, figures I'm the last one to know about anything around here." complained the human, "So what's the big deal with shorty anyways."

"I'll show you, if you promise to just shut up."

Kuwabara agreed and was allowed access into the temple. Genkai lead him through various doors to a small room. Seated quietly at the far corner was Yukina, who was contently focused with the object in her arms. Kuwabara, ecstatic to see the woman of his dreams, ran to her side and began with his usual long speech about his manliness, their love, and her beauty. _(Author's Note: Sorry, I have not the patience or energy to write as Kuwabara. So let's just mentally insert something he would say to Yukina here and pretend it belongs there…)_ Yukina did not reply, but instead raised a finger to her lips, quieting the romantic fool.

"Hey what's the deal here?" said Kuwabara to Genkai, "I though you were going to show me Hiei, not my lovely future wife."

"Idiot…" mumbled Genkai as she pointed to the bundle in Yukina's lap, covered in blankets.

Carefully, the Ice maiden removed the blanket shielding Hiei's face from view.

"Aww, come on! This can't be true! Yukina had a baby and you didn't even tell me ya were seein' someone else!"

"No Kazuma," whispered the koorime, "this is Hiei."

Kuwabara took a second and looked over the child. Frowned expression, spiky hair, slit on the forehead? H-i-e-i?

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AH! This can't be real! HAHAHAHAH! The midget got smaller! HaHAHAHAHHAHAHA!" laughed Kazuma.

~BAM!~

Genkai bashed Kuwabara atop the head, knocking him out cold and then proceeded to drag away his body. But this was done in vain. Hiei was already awake and fought back the tears of shame. Yukina saw and gently squeezed the child, but Hiei did not want this. He just wanted some solitude for once. It hurt him to do so, but he pushed her away, and crawled off of her lap. Nearby was everything that you had left to Genkai. Hiei made his way to the small pile and sat amongst it, taking in the scent. How he wished this would all end. But he was grateful for this experience, in a way. It brought him nearer to his sister and he was so much closer to you…

"This is wrong, after I am cured, she will not have any interest in me. She was relying on instinct, the way most females do. When I am no longer a child, she will not be there. I must destroy any feeling for her, before anyone else notices them. If I suffer quietly, then no one else will have to." decided Hiei, "I will make her hate me, so that it is impossible for her to feel anything other than detestation towards me."

Hiei inhaled your scent, "I will do as I do with Yukina; I will care for her at a distance and only enjoy her when she is not around. Her scent, her shadow, and the echo of her voice… these will suffice for me to keep her memory."

"Hiei-sama, does something bother you?" came the soft voice of Yukina.

Hiei turned and looked her deep in the eyes. Hesitantly, he shook his head "no." It was nice that she regarded him with an honorific representative of who he is and not what he appears to be.

Yukina's head perked up, "I believe the others are here… three of them, yes. So they all made it safely back."

She smiled and so did Hiei for a moment, until he realized that Yusuke would have to see him like this too and when the Idiot awoke, he would never hear the end of it. Pulling himself to his own feet, Hiei fought to keep his balance. One step and then another unstable one. Yukina stood and watched on, even when he fell a few times. She knew that he didn't want help right now. She only intervened to open the sliding door, which would have been impossible for him at his height. Hiei continued through the door and listened for what direction to go into. Choosing the room with the most sound, he pushed himself to walk all the way there and finally leaned against the door. Pressing his ear to the door, he tried to make out the conversation.

Yukina spoke, "Are you ready Hiei-sama?"

Hiei looked up, nodded, and raised his arms up. Yukina obliged and tenderly picked him up, placing him on her hip and using her free arm to open the door. The room had fewer lanterns then the previous rooms and thus had less light. Everyone was seated around a table in the center of the room. There was a moment or two of stunned silence. Then the room erupted into laughter from Yusuke and Yoko. Kuwabara, who was still unconscious in the corner was woken by the sound.

"Hey guys, I had the strangest dream…Half-pint was even smaller, like a quarter pint…" spoke Kuwabara.

The others heard this and the laughter doubled. He did not expect to see Yoko Kurama here, but his reaction was the same as the others. Hiei held strong and shaped his face into one of his famous glares. Yukina watched on.

"Kazuma, please. Master Hiei has not been well and had it not been for Master Kurama and (_your name_) he would have died." she spoke, her words pleading and sad.

_(Author's Note: I did try not to leave blanks where you put your name because it makes it feel like a mad lib instead of a novel like story, but every once in a while I am forced to do so. Sorry.)_

Kuwabara tried to swallow his laughter, "Oh…~snicker~ I am… so sorry ~giggle~ Yukina…."

The room quieted down, but not for long. Soon it was ringing with laughter.

"Hahahahaha! I bet Koenma is pissed no that there's another toddler around!" chortled Yusuke.

"I'm shocked that he could get so small, it's like the portable version of Hiei!" chuckled Kuwabara.

"All right you imbeciles! Time for all of you to shut up and explain a few things." growled Genkai.

Yoko was the only one able to control himself. The other two were still laughing.

"Who's ass do I gotta kick to shut you idiots up?!"

Now the room was quiet.

"First of all, why is she asleep?" questioned Genkai pointing to your body.

"Uh…she was a little…" Yusuke started.

Yoko interrupted, "I put her out because she was being a nuisance. She apparently does not know that Shuichi and I share a vessel."

"Good enough. Can you wake her please, it's easier when everyone is present cause I ain't going over this shit twice." answered Genkai.

Yoko nodded and took a different seed from his collection and this time squeezed in before putting it into your mouth. Moment's later and you were sitting up, vaguely aware of your surrounding and a little nauseous. Rubbing your head, you stand up and run out of the room. Everyone gave a confused look.

Yoko answered them before they could ask, "The herb seed also induces vomiting in some cases."

Everyone nodded their heads. You return shortly, after trying to get the foul taste out of your mouth. You pass by Hiei and for a moment, you want to hold him, but quickly you dismiss the urge. Taking a seat, you throw dirty looks to the man who poisoned you.

"Now that we are all finally present, I want a full report on what in god's name happened tonight." said Genkai, trying to be calm.

Everyone started to talk at once.

~SLAM!~

Again silence returned and Genkai removed her fist from the crater in the wall.

"One at a time!"

Yusuke went first, "Kuwabara and I finished our part of the mission earlier today by killing the three demons who were doing business in that part of town. We bumped into her on our way back."

The room's focus shifted to you.

"Um… I went to the Makai to stop Kurama from investigating those buildings without informing anyone else because it wasn't safe. But… I don't think he didn't make it back…."

"You thought wrong. Shuichi did go to those buildings, but was ambushed by some demons who were taking books and papers. He fought back and followed them as they retreated. Something must have knocked him out because I was able to take control of his body. We met in that room at the end of one of the tunnels." spoke Yoko Kurama casually, "Whatever happened there, Shuichi asked me two things: take care of her and Hiei and to resist changing back."

"So, Kurama is… inside of you?" you question. You knew of Yoko Kurama from what Kurama told of him, but have never met that side of Kurama before. Everything started to make sense and immediately, you felt like a fool because of how you reacted in the Makai.

"There are only two reasons why Kurama would ask you to not change back: He was either debilitated to the point where he could not fight, or he fell victim to the same thing that attacked Hiei. Yoko, could you temporarily change back? Just give us a half hour." said the wise woman.

"Hmph. Shuichi really doesn't want me to. He is using such colorful language too. Sure, I'll do it. I didn't have much time left anyway." spoke the fox demon.

Yoko's skin glowed and one could easily see that Kurama was trying to refuse the transformation, but to no avail. Soon streaks of read appeared in his hair and his eyes mellowed out into an emerald green. Sitting before everyone was Kurama, but some how different.

He had not the time to blink when Genkai said, "Explain yourself."

"I believe that your second Hypothesis was correct Genkai. But I was able to attain some information on the procedure: That room we were in had thinly carved lines depicting enigmatic characters everywhere. I also found countless bodies strewn everywhere and I have reason to believe that they were sacrificed for their blood, which collected into those carvings. The lines formed blood bonds which contained high amounts of energy. I believe that Hiei, who was able to report to the area faster then us, used the tunnel connecting the buildings to get there faster and entered that bond like I did while it was full of energy."

"Hiei, is what Kurama is true? Did you use that tunnel?" you ask.

Clutching Yukina's Kimono, the little fire demon nodded twice before he reached for you. Yukina carried the child to you where he did as he had done before you left for the Demon world the second time. Pressing foreheads, you could hear his voice. As it entered your mind, you voiced it for everyone else to hear, "Kurama is right. I tried to warn him before he left, just as I tried to warn you, but no one could understand me. I followed the scent of blood there and when I entered, I felt like I could hear chanting, although no one alive was there. When I tried to leave, I had no energy left."

You pulled away, "This makes no sense. Both Yusuke and I were also in that room, but I feel no different."

Yusuke spoke up, "Damn it. I know why. Remember I said it felt like someone's territory. Well, I think it was and it extended as far as the room itself did. If it was anything like a territory, then whoever is responsible for creating it could have made specific rules for people in it. It's like Kaito all over again!"

Genkai stood up, "For once Yusuke has something to say that isn't worthless. If what everyone says is true, this may not be permanent, so far only Hiei and Kurama have been affected."

"Demons…" you whispered and everyone looked back at you, "They are both demons with high levels of youkai. I don't have demonic energy, and even though Yusuke is a Mazoku, he is not a full blooded demon. It's your energy signal that triggers the reaction."

"Finally, at least we know what's going on around here. I was getting' a little nervous that I'd be next." said Kuwabara.

"Yes, well, we now know it's not permanent, but that also means that we have yet to defeat the mastermind. If it were like the psychic territories we have dealt with, when the person is knocked unconscious, the rules should be null and void," voiced Kurama.

"This isn't like the ones we have dealt with. Perhaps it just takes time to wear away. Frankly, it doesn't matter at the moment. Hiei is too fragile to experiment with another's territory and we have no idea who set up the one you both fell into." said Genkai.

"So what's gonna happen now?" asked Kuwabara.

"We will all have to take part in the care of Hiei and Kurama until we find a solution or until it wears off." replied Genkai, "Kurama, the way I see it, you're already down three years. If you wanted to do anything before you too go through the same stages and changes as Hiei, you'd better do it soon. Tomorrow, you won't be able to anymore."

Kurama nodded regretfully, "This is what I deserve for being reckless and not thinking before I act."

"Hey, don't worry Kurama, at least you have Hiei to keep you company," laughed Kuwabara.

Kurama frowned and Hiei threw Yukina's empty tea cup at the orange head.

"Oww! What the hell shrimp? Why'd ya go and do that?!" screamed Kuwabara, running and preparing to hit Hiei.

"Kazuma, he is just a child! You wouldn't dare!" spoke Yukina in Hiei's defense.

Hiei smiled menacingly, not bothered that his sister called him a child.

"So, I get to hassle the Oaf and not get reprimanded? This could have some perks." thought Hiei.

Genkai opened the doors and walked out, "Meeting's over. You can stay or go, I really don't care, just don't bother me and I won't have to hurt any of you."

Yukina handed Hiei to you, "Will you be returning to your home now?"

Your eyes went to Kurama, whose head was in his hands. He looked as Hiei did during the first part of the transformation.

"Um, I am not sure at the moment," you reply.

"Alright, I will set up a room for you and Hiei, in case you decide to stay." the koorime smiled, "I very much like having little Hiei around."

Hiei blushed a little.

"Actually, could you make it for three?" you said, still looking at Kurama.

Yukina understood what you implied and nodded in agreement, before quietly leaving the room to make preparations. Soon it was just the three of you. Setting Hiei down, you went to sit by Kurama.

"Are you going to be alright?" you ask, trying to see his face.

Kurama looked up. He already appeared so much younger then he was.

"Yes, but these next days will be very difficult," answered Kurama, his voice already loosing some of its aged tone, "Unfortunately, I've done this before, many years ago. It will be a nuisance to go through again, but I am sure that I will return to my original state much faster this time considering my body has been conditioned for it before. I cannot speak for Hiei though. We may need to find another way to age him."

Hiei was idly playing with anything that he could get his hands onto, including the weapons that Yoko Kurama had confiscated from you. Letting out a sigh, you go and retrieve both the child and your items.

"Sorry, Hiei, but I can't have you carving Kuwabara up, as much as I would enjoy the sight." you say, taking your seat next to the fox. You pull up your sleeves and stash the weapon away. Kurama notices the bruises on your wrists. He gently takes your hand, and looks at the black and purple marks.

"I am sorry; I didn't know he would do this…"

You immediately pull your arms back and cover them with your kimono, "It's nothing. Don't worry about it; you have bigger things to worry about now."

Kurama nodded.

"Would you like to stay with me until you have changed back?" you asked taking up Hiei in your arms.

"I couldn't after you have been so kind to Hiei, I will only be a greater burden on you. I will find someone else."

"I'm sorry, but do you really want Yusuke or Kuwabara taking care of you in that state? I am not much better but at least I have some knowledge thanks to you helping me with Hiei."

Kurama nodded, "You are right. I shudder to think what they would do to me in that situation."

"For tonight, let's stay at Genkai's, until morning." you suggest.

"Yes, but I must first attend to some things," said Kurama as he stood from his spot, "I must find an excuse to not come home for a while so that mother will not worry."

You thought for a moment, "Tell her you are leaving for some scholastic event or that you are studying abroad or researching with a development team. That sounds like something Kura… I mean Shuichi Minamino would do."

"Yes, you are quite right. I'll return in a couple of hours then."

You say goodbye and leave the room as well. Yukina stops you in the hallway and shows you where you will be staying for the night. She also asks if she could spend some time with Hiei.

"She must not know that he can understand everything, or she just doesn't care," you think

To Hiei's surprise, you agree and hand him over to the waiting ice maiden.

"All of his stuff is in my bag. Feel free to use anything he needs," you say, "If you'd like you can bathe him that is, if he's not too much trouble."

"I am sure that he will be fine. He's always good and honorable. It's just that, I'm sure that my brother is like that, and having Hiei around kind of feels like we are family, even if we are not. I sound silly, I know." she giggled a little, but Hiei was as tense as he could be, giving you dirty looks.

"What the hell do you think you are doing? You will pay dearly for this!" said Hiei.

Both women looked on as Hiei spoke in gibberish baby talk.

Yukina smiled, "I think he will miss you."

You let a laugh escape, "I doubt that he will even know I'm gone."

That hurt him a little. Of course he knew she was around. Everything up until this moment was because of you and you're not even bothered? She doesn't see how significant she is to me.

Hiei did not struggle anymore and let Yukina take him away.

Letting out a sigh, you tried to force yourself to again being accustomed to not having Hiei around you. It was better this was; it was safer this way.

It had been a few hours since Kurama had left. Everyone had decided to stay at Genkai's and Yusuke and Kuwabara celebrated by drinking until neither could walk. Yukina enjoyed her time with Hiei, and Hiei tried his best to not show his embarrassment from her loving treatment. Your eyes wondered to his body, sleeping quietly on the pallet next to yours. Watching his chest rise and fall rhythmically with each breath. You were sitting at the window staring through the glass, thinking. There was nothing left to do now, but wait and hope that things untangled themselves. A tap at the door caught your attention and you crossed the room to see who it was. Sliding the door open, you look down at the boy, maybe seven or eight years old, pale skin and long red hair. His clothing hung baggy on every part of him.

"Kurama, I see it is progressing as Genkai had predicted." you say, inviting him in.

"Yes. Yukina informed me that she has made arrangements for me to sleep with you tonight?" asked the child in a soft voice.

You nod, "The boys are drinking down the hall and we thought it would be better if you were away while you were… um, changing."

Kurama looked away.

"How was your mother?" you ask, changing the subject.

"Sad to hear I was leaving, but she believed all of my lies. Funny, though, she immediately noticed how I had changed even though at the time, I had only lost a few years." replied the fox.

"You are very fortunate to have someone like her," you respond, wishing you had been that lucky.

"Yes, I am," Kurama smiled weakly.

"Yukina left some clothing for you, before you drown in all of that fabric."

He let out a laugh. You take the clothing and hand it to him and he begins to strip. Embarrassed, you return to your seat at the window and look away.

Kurama noticed this, "I apologize. Most demons do not have much modesty, but that doesn't matter much now. In caring for Hiei, you have seen every part of him, and soon you will see me like this too, just much younger than I am now."

Kurama folded his old clothes and pilled them up neatly. Putting on these clothes, Kurama let out another sigh. They were clearly Yukina's from a younger age. Slipping on the sleeves was no problem, but he couldn't manage to wrap and tie the obi correctly. Frustrated, he let go, allowing the material to fall and the folds to open.

"Um, would you mind helping me with this? It seems that I am already loosing some of my motor skills." spoke Kurama.

You turn around and face the demon. Kneeling, you take both folds of material and cross them over the boy's chest, covering up his exposed loins. He raised his arms for you, allowing you to easily wrap the sash multiple times around his waist, before tying a male knot behind his back.

"Thank you." he said.

Smiling, you admit, "You are much more cooperative then Hiei was and even polite. Thank you for making this easier on me."

Kurama nodded and let out a yawn.

"Perhaps you should go to bed now." you suggest.

The boy agrees, but before you are able to stand up, he throws his arms around you in an embrace. From across the room, Hiei watches on with ambivalent feelings.

"I don't know what Hiei and I would do without you." said Kurama into your shoulder, "I don't understand why you are so kind."

Rubbing the child's back, "I don't know either, so I guess neither of us will ever know."

You release the child and he goes to his pallet on the other side of yours. You do the same, and climb into your bed as well. Hiei sits up and you stare at him.

"Hiei, are you wet?" you ask nonchalantly.

He shakes his head no, but comes closer. Soon you can even hear his voice in your head.

"So all of this time, he has been practicing." you decide quietly.

His voice echoes in your head, "Do you care for him?"

"For who?" you ask.

"Kurama," Hiei replies.

"Yes," you respond honestly.

Hiei's face showed its disappointment.

You continue, "But I also care for you as well Hiei. I would not be here if I didn't want to help you. What kind of a question is that?"

Hiei looks away. With that said, you refuse to talk anymore and pull yourself away from him. Hiei tries to continue the conversation verbally, so you reach over to your nearby bag and retrieve and object. "Goodnight Hiei." You place the pacifier into his mouth which silences his baby talk and causes him to frown. He submits, but pulls himself closer to you and closes his eyes.

"Yes, tonight will be the last night. When the sun rises tomorrow, I will treat her as I would any other person." decided Hiei.

For some reason, sleep came easily for those staying with Genkai that night. Whether it was alcohol, exhaustion, acceptance, or just the company, no one found it difficult to wander out of reality. The sun rose, just as it did everyday, but you remained asleep. The feeling of someone violently shaking you is what stirred you into reality. Opening your eyes slowly, big red orbs came into view.

"Oh, good morning, Hiei," you whisper closing your eyes.

~smack!~

"Damn it! That really hurt." you open your eyes again to see Hiei poised for another hit, "What the hell was that for?"

Hiei pointed to the small body next to you. Crawling on all fours, you make it to Kurama's bed. Carefully, you pull back the covers. A three or four year old Kurama was in the place of the young boy who was there the night before. The boy still possessed his adorable looks and long red main, which made him almost look more like a girl because his adult body was no longer there. He was wrapped up in the soiled kimono he wore and the blankets around him. Hiei peered in and saw his old friend for the first time. Hiei's reaction caught you off guard.

"Rama! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hah! Rama! Rama! Hahahahahahahahahahah!" Hiei was almost in tears from laughing so hard.

The child stirred and opened his eyes. Sitting up, Kurama looked around and then at himself in his sordid state, giving way to tears. This only encouraged Hiei's laughter.

"_, I sowry! ~sniffle~ I so sowry!" cried Kurama in a soft shaking voice.

Hiei stopped laughing. How come Kurama could still talk when he could not and how come he looked older then him? This was not fair. You were sort of not surprised that some of Kurama's intellect would remain.

"It's alright Kurama. You've done nothing wrong," you respond, giving Hiei a frown for laughing at Kurama when neither of them had laughed right away when Hiei had changed.

Kurama stood up and held his clothing out, "I didn't mean to, I swear…"

"I know, let's get this cleaned up,"

He takes off his robe and hands it to you and you take the wet blankets and wrap them up to be washed later. You leave the room and put the laundry into the hamper at the end of the long hall. While waiting for you to return, Kurama folds all of the left over blankets the best that he could and pushed them to the side of the room where they belonged.

Hiei watched on, but mumbled, "Baka," thinking that no one would be able to understand him.

Kurama turned around, "I am not!"

Hiei was caught off guard that Kurama now could understand him, "You are! Once a stupid fox, always one."

"Leave me awone Hiei! Is bad enough I have to go frough all of dis again, but its even hawder wif you being mean!" replied the red head, "I did my best when I was bigger so dat you would be otay, and I even made myself like dis so I could twy to help you, so peas, if you are gonna be mean to me, at least be nice to her!"

Hiei glared at the nude child and scowled. You entered the room and noticed the change in atmosphere.

"What's going on?"

Kurama looked up to you, removing the anger from his face, "Nofing, I was just tawking to Hiei about sumting."

"And you can comprehend him?" you ask.

Kurama nodded, "But usually he dosen't have anyfing of value to say."

Hiei huffed at the fox. You didn't ask, but instead lifted Kurama and carried him to the next door bathroom. Jealous, Hiei tried to follow.

You noticed this and said, "Hiei, you were already bathed last night by your sister, you do not need a bath now."

Hiei plopped down onto the ground in defiance. Kurama growled at Hiei. Hiei understood and started to stand and return back to the room. You noticed how gloomy he looked and scooped him up into the other arm and carried him into the large bathroom.

"You can keep us company," you said.

Hiei nodded, but his face did not change. Placing both children down, you remove the bottom layer kimono, which you slept in the night before.

"Kurama, will you need help to clean yourself?" you ask pulling out two Japanese stools.

Kurama shrugged not knowing. You pour some water onto both of you, and together you scrub yourselves clean. You finish before Kurama does and use your towel to help him out. Hiei quietly looks on. Using some shampoo, you quickly wash the fox's red hair. When you are done, Kurama is left covered in bubbles and you let out a laugh.

"Here," you say as you hand him the bucket of water. He pours it over himself and rinses the suds away. You pick up the wet child and bring him to the huge Ofuro in the center of the room. Holding him tight, you climb the stairs and slowly get into the already warm water. You never let go of Kurama, for fear that he would drown and after a while of soaking, you carry him out and place him on his feet. He walks over to the rack and grabs a white towel and starts to dry himself. You do the same then slipping on a robe and you pick up your belongings and Hiei too. You open the door and let the fox out and follow him to your room. Before you close your door, you spot Yukina in the hallway with a bundle in her hands. She shuffles over to you and you all exchange good mornings.

"I thought you may need some fresh clothes and linens this morning. I brought a variety, because I wasn't sure if they would accommodate Kurama's new size." she spoke.

You thank her deeply and bow.

"Hurry and get dressed, breakfast will be done soon." she smiles as she leaves.

Hiei's stomach lets out a grumble.

"I take it you are hungry?" you ask, and the baby turns away from you.

Closing the door shut, you carry Hiei to the corner of the room, where your bags were placed. You lay him down and remove his pajamas. Kurama sits patiently by your side. You pull the plastic tabs of his diaper and clean him up before you reach for a clean one. Hiei kicked and screamed and fought back to the best of his ability to resist the new diaper. He was going to make all of this as difficult as he could.

"She will hate me soon." thought Hiei.

You manage to diaper him and before you dress Hiei, you look to Kurama.

"I know this is really awkward Kurama, but until you know how well your body functions, I think it is best that you are dressed as Hiei is. Hiei smiled, knowing how the fox would react.

Nervously, he responded, "No, this morning was an accident. It won't happen again, I pwomise." Kurama began to turn red.

"You look physically older than Hiei and you can do more than he can, but it would be really embarrassing if you had an accident in front of the others. Just for today; if you don't need it, we won't do it again."

Kurama sniffled a little, "Fine…."

He lies down in front of you and you prepare what is needed.

"I hope that Hiei's diapers will fit you…" you open one up and ask the fox to raise his bottom off the ground.

He consents, but not without crying a little first. You are able to slide the diaper under him and begin to apply rash cream like you do for Hiei. Kurama covers his face with his hands as you proceed. You pull the front end between his legs and manage to successfully tape the tabs on. It was a little snug, but it fit well enough on his very slim form. When you finish, Kurama lays on his side, pulls his legs into his chest and continues to cry. Hiei laughs at the sight with a sense of retribution now that someone else must endure what he had to. Hearing Hiei's laughter only made Kurama cry harder.

"Hiei!" you yell, "How about you act your real age and leave Kurama alone."

Being scolded did not defer the demon, he just continued to laugh. You grab his pacifier and pick up Hiei in only his diaper. Placing him in away from Kurama, you force the pacifier into his mouth.

"If you don't stop it now, I'll send you to Kuwabara just like this!" you threaten.

Hiei stops laughing and turns and faces the corner, not wanting to acknowledge you. You stand and return to the crying fox. You felt horrible watching Kurama like this, but it wasn't like there was much left for you to make it any better. You pick up Kurama and sit him on your hip, he cries softly into your shoulder with his arms around your neck as you pace the room for a while.

"Calm down Kurama. It's not that bad and it won't be like this forever," you rub the child's back.

"I…I don't know why I crying, I just don't wanna do dis again. I don't want to bovver you any more. I hate dis. I can't control anyting anymore!"

"I know and so does Hiei. He's gone through the same thing you have. We are going to get through this and soon, neither of you will have to be like this anymore. But for now, you both have to be strong."

Kurama looks up with his eyes still a little teary and nods.

"Come here Hiei."

Hiei looks up at you and reluctantly makes his way to you. You place Kurama next to Hiei and you say, "This can only last for so long, and soon you won't even need me anymore. You are still the people that you were before, so don't let this struggle get the better of you."

Kurama leans and hugs you, but Hiei turns away. You grab him and include him in the hug anyway. Afterwards, you grab some clothes from your bag and quickly dress Hiei in daytime clothes. Thankfully, Yukina has provided you a kimono to wear as well as some things for Kurama to wear. Standing, beet red, in nothing but his diaper, Kurama waits as you look for something that would fit him. You try one on him, but it is much too long.

"At least it covers your diaper well," you say.

You grab one of your daggers and carefully cut away the excess material.

"How is that?" you ask.

Kurama moves around and check his kimono to see if it is too long, which it is no longer. You notice how he now walks different while diapered, more like he waddled. He takes the time to help you put everything away. You take your seat at the window and call Hiei to you. You slide one arm out of your kimono and hold Hiei to your chest. He intentionally latches on too forcefully and you curse under your breath. He feeds for a while, but you pull him off before he is satisfied. After being placed onto the ground, Hiei glares at you.

"Sorry, but you have to share now, and I think you should try to eat some of Yukina's cooking today."

Normally Hiei would be mad, but he didn't care. He was going to get normal food and that pleased him. Kurama caught onto what you had said about sharing and gave a confused look.

"You are just as much demon as he is, and under Genkai's instruction, you must be fed as Hiei is because I fear that what happened to him, may happen to you."

He understood, but was not happy about it. Switching sleeves, you expose the other breast and allow Kurama to come closer. You pick up the heavier child and cradle him in your arms. He just lies there, not quite knowing what to do.

"Just try your best," you encourage.

He opens his small mouth and you help guide him to the nipple. His mouth closes around it and after a few experimental tries, he too, is able to suckle. He makes himself comfortable and even closes his eyes. After some time, you had to stir him awake. He looks confused for a moment, before he is able to remember everything. Incredibly embarrassed for acting like such a child, Kurama's face turns the same shade of red as his hair. You set him down and fix yourself. Finally, for once, there is no left over milk to irritate your breasts.

You let out a sigh and proceed to the dinning room. By the time you enter, everyone is seated, just talking and eating. Botan and Koenma have also joined the group as well as Keiko and Kuwabara's older sister. Seeing a few empty chairs, you make your way to them with Hiei and Kurama following at your heels. Only two chairs left, but Yukina, who is going to sit next to you offers to hold Hiei in her lap. You thank her and take your seat, lifting Kurama into your lap. Everyone is oblivious to the fact that you are even there and you take the moment to spoon out some of the food on the platters in the center of the table onto the plates provided. You hand Yukina one so she could feed Hiei some eggs and you position one in front of Kurama for him to have a little bit of everything considering his age and the fact that he has most of his teeth. Hiei sees this and would normally be envious, but for now is ok with chewing on something for once. You just sit back, not hungry at all and play with Kurama's hair as he eats, occasionally turning the boy to wipe his mouth, being the messy eater using his fingers after failing with the chopsticks. After some time, Koenma, who was seated next to Genkai, stood and quieted down the group.

"Ahem… I am here today to inform you all that Hiei and Kurama are temporarily unable to care for themselves alone and are now possible targets for demon activities to rise…"

"Tell us something we don't already know, dumbass!" yelled Yusuke.

"Shut up dip shit!" called Genkai.

Koenma continued, "…yes, well, as such everyone will be responsible for aiding in their care and protection. Up until now, Kurama and _ have been in charge of Hiei, but due to recent events, she will be in charge of this operation and will have say on what is done. This is too much work for one person, so you will all be asked to take part in it. We now know the circumstances as to what has happened and I can assure you that everyone in Spirit World is working 24/7 researching and utilizing the psychics to possibly find a cure. Until then, everyone is to remain in the Ningenkai without exception! Until they are in their proper states, I ask that you take this mission seriously, and with sensitivity to those involved. They still possess all of their mental functioning, and they will remember this after they are normal, so just watch what you do."

Everyone agreed except for Kuwabara, who needed just a little "persuasion." After breakfast, all of the females, except for you and Genkai, flocked to Yukina and the baby she held. Even though they were just told not to, they all cooed and tickled the child ruthlessly. Casually, you stand and head towards the sliding doors, avoiding any conversations. Kurama silently follows you as you head through long winding halls. Finding the room you wanted, you enter it, but not before you ask Kurama what he is doing.

"Me….um…I dunno. I don't wanna be wif the other guys wright now. Am I bovering you?" he asked timidly.

You shake your head no, "Just don't stand too close, I want to see if I can get some training in today. I think I'm loosing more then I know."

"Otay…" Kurama finds a seat against the wall.

You grab the closest weapon from the wall which turns out to be a long blade katana and return to the middle of the room. Crouching down low, you take a moment to ready yourself… and then you snap. Hitting each stance with perfect precision, you shift into different positions and slice through the air gracefully. Mentally, you calculate positions of vulnerability and how someone would approach you and you physically react to each situation. Just after a half hour and you are still practicing; each time, trying to eliminate the attacker in your mind. You are getting really into it when you hear your name called. Dropping the sword, you turn to face the person.

"Master Genkai! I'm sorry for intruding, I just wanted to…."

"Don't worry about it," she says as she walks to the wall herself, choosing a short blade katana.

"Repeat the last one," she requests.

A little confused, you pick up your weapon and return to the open position with both hands on the hilt angled down at your invisible enemy. Surprisingly, Genkai steps to where the enemy would be.

"Ready? Go!" she screams as she begins hounding you with wide stroked attacks. You manage to parry each one by axis-ing your attacks around hers. She soon finds and opening and you are forced to submit.

"Very good, but you are fighting yourself more then you are me. Stop following what I do, and focus on yourself. You've become too defensive, you need to rely more on instinct."

You nod, taking it all in. She corrects your stance, bringing your arms further away from your body, providing some weak points.

"Again!"

She hurls herself at you, aiming for a weak point, but you do not defend nor attack, instead, you wait. Just as she enters the space, you swing you blade out and then in, causing her strike to be pulled away from you as well as directing the edge of your sword at her throat.

"There, now you have it. Keep to it, and you'll be great," Genkai discards the weapon, "Now lets see what energy you have left in you."

You agree and do the same. Standing still, you try to focus on materializing your spiritual energy, but after a long wait, nothing happens. You let out a frustrated sigh.

"I see. You have changed in order to accommodate others. Because of this, your flow of energy has also changed. You once were only focused on self preservation, but after being forced to attend to others, you have learned to defend them, instead of taking it on the offensive. Tap into that new source and you should still be able to use a large percentage of what you once had, even though some has been taken."

"But how? I tried before, when I was in the Makai and nothing would happen. Even when I thought I needed it most and I tried, nothing worked," you said.

"You need to trust yourself more. Stop doubting your ability and it will return to you. Sometimes, it just needs encouraging." said Genkai lunging at you.

You do your best to avoid her attacks, but each time you try to use your energy, you feel it build up, but not release. Match after match, you are defeated.

"Stop relying on old habits! You'll only end up dead!"

"I'm trying, I am, but… I just can't," you respond.

"Fine, then I will force you!"

With inhumane speed, Genkai grabs Kurama and pulls him onto the floor. She holds him, with one hand at his throat, finger tips glowing with energy.

"Stop! Let go of him!" you scream.

~~cue end theme!~~


	11. Chapter 11, The Struggles

WARNING: Not responsible for any cases of shortness of breath, constipation, heart attack, blindness, AIDS, cancer, deftness, ADD, ADHA, loss of erection, stunting of growth, broken bones, dry skin, water eyes, thinness of blood, dyslexia, loss of hair/baldness, death due to shock, loss of bladder control, premarital sex, an erection that lasts more then 4 to 7 hours, heat stroke, gas/flatulence, D.U.I, Murder, herpes, sleep deprivation, nausea, a sudden urge to dance like a white guy, heart burn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea, crabs, yeast infections, warts, acne, pimples, zits, puberty, unexpected pregnancies, and any other sexually transmitted diseases.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the YYH characters mentioned here because they belong to Yoshihiro Togashi-sama.

I own nothing, but the non-YYH characters mentioned and the all around plot. Everything else is strictly borrowed for mere entertainment.

~Cue theme song!~

"Stop! Let go of him!" you scream.

"No, you have to confront this!"

Kurama, unaware of what is really going on, is inconsolably, pleading to be released.

"Use that! Let the moment fuel your actions! Your need to defend Kurama has just become a need to attack in order to save him! No running, no hiding! Face this!" she screams, inching closer to his neck.

Kurama lets out a scream. It burns you inside. Furious, you stop trying to tap into the power and just let go, leaping at the old woman, feeling no inhibitions. As you aim your strike at Genkai, she pulls her arm away from Kurama and instead aims it at you, releasing the stored energy. Suddenly, you notice that you have also materialized your energy as the blast she created is now coming in contact with one, emanating from your own hands, engulfing the small blast. Genkai pulls Kurama away and the explosion is diverted. Gasping for breath, you look on in amazement.

Genkai stood up, "It was always there, you just couldn't find it."

You attention went to poor Kurama, still sobbing.

"C'mon Kurama! You know I wouldn't intentionally let anything happen to you. Yusuke, maybe, but never you." smiled Genkai.

Kurama, a little shaken, nods. You go to the child and pick him up reassuringly.

"Thank you Genkai, I believe I have had enough training for today."

You bow reverently.

"Come back anytime for more. You are much more pleasant to teach then the ungrateful bastards that I'm used to." mumbled Genkai.

You exit the room with Kurama in your arms.

"Are you ok? Did Genkai really scare you that badly?"

Kurama didn't respond.

"Don't worry about it. No one here would ever harm you like that, so don't think about it too much." you say, holding him on your hip, carrying outside.

"Whear are we going?" asked Kurama, hiding the sniffles.

"I thought it would be nice to go outside and relax for a little," you reply carrying the boy to an open area of grass with plenty of plants and trees around.

You set him down and take a seat at the base of a tall tree. He just stands there, looking confused as to what to do.

"Go, run around, and play for a little." you state.

"Me? I'm too old to pway," he responds.

"Nonsense! Playing is how the young train themselves. I have trained some, so now it's your turn."

"um…okay…"

Kurama goes to the nearest plant and tries to manipulate it. Soon he is controlling a wide variety of plants, smiling as they obey his commands. It wasn't long until Kurama was completely out of energy. Exhausted, he laid down next to you on the warm grass, let out a content sigh, and stared at the sky.

Thinking, you let out a laugh, which caught the attention of the fox next to you.

"I just keep thinking that you were right about everything," you mutter.

"Huh? Me? Wight a'bout what?" he asks, curiously.

"When you had I told you that I didn't want Hiei to go to the meeting, you said that you though I was becoming too attached to Hiei, I think you were right…. I know I shouldn't say this, but the others wouldn't understand. "

Kurama understood.

"I have always felt very similar to Hiei for many reasons, but because of that he never let me get close and I never let him get close. This experience has forced us into contact with one another and now I don't know what to do." you finally let out.

He sat up and faced you, "Only you can answer dat qwestion."

"I have tried pushing him away, but then I feel wrong, but when I am close I feel like I am taking advantage of the situation. He so inverted, I can never tell if maybe he feels the same. At times, I think he does, but then it seems like he hates me more then ever. To him, I am just some inhuman, non-demon freak. But for some unknown reason, I feel affection for him more than I should."

"If you honestry feel like dat, den you must folwow your heart. I have seen you two and I noticed dat you are bofe bery cwose wif each over now dat dis has happened. I only mentioned it because I was worried about you. When Hiei is bigger, he may or may not weturn dose feelings dat you have, and I don't want you to get huwrt by him. It is like dis wif everyone you will ever meet. He does not intentionawy mean to harm you, dats just how he is and how he has always been. But dat is not your fauwlt. I was not sure if you really liked him, but if you are den you must do whatever feel wight to you," spoke Kurama, almost as wise as he was in his older form.

"Is it wrong to feel like this? I've never met anyone like him and even when he's mean to me, I still want to be near him…" you play with the blades of grass as you speak, "He can be so soft and sincere sometimes, but most of the time, he has to be hard with no sign of emotion. I know it's his defense mechanism, but I wish that he would notice that I am not here to hurt him."

"He trusts you more den anyone else, but Hiei is Hiei and he will never willing change who he is alone. You can bwing out da best in him, if dat is what you want. Whatever you decide to do, I want you to know dat I wm always here for you." replied the child standing up and offering his hand.

You take it and stand up as well.

"Thank you Kurama. You have been so kind to me, I don't think I could have survived any of this, without you. You are really a great friend."

He smiles and it betrays his insides, "Let's go back inside."

Hands still intertwined, the fox leads you to the side entrance and you are greeted by Keiko and Botan.

"Hey there!" chimed the ferry girl, "So tell us, was it super hard being in charge of Hiei?"

~anime sweat drop~ "Um, well it wasn't exactly easy." you smile back.

"I just can't believe how adorable you and Hiei have become. You're even cuter then before!" cried Keiko bending down to Kurama's level pinching his cheeks.

"Pwease, you are huwrting me!" blushed Kurama.

Keiko looked and Botan, "Awwwwwwwwwwwww! How adorable!"

"You know he is exactly the same on the inside as he was before, right?" you question the women.

"Who cares? We can't resist adorable children; they are just too lovable to control ourselves!" shrieked the two women in unison.

Laughing, you continue to walk away. Kurama, who is being attacked by both Botan and Keiko unhindered reactions to children, sees this and cries out your name.

"No, don't go! Pwease, hewlp me! Don't wet dem kidnap me!" he cries out laughing, feigning off the girls' probing hands and baby talk.

You chuckle, "Sorry Kurama, that's what you get for be just being so 'gosh darn cute'. It's only fair you get exactly what Hiei gets."

"Noooooo! I fought dat we were fwiends!" he called, reaching out to grab you.

Still laughing, you continue in the direction you were walking in, waving good bye to the doomed fox. Keiko and Botan went after their prey.

Yukina stared in confusion. The day had gone really well. Together they had a good time, up until this moment. She had been tickling Hiei playfully and he was giggling uncontrollably, when suddenly he stopped and looked sad.

"What are you thinking Hiei?" the ice maiden inquired.

Hiei shook his head. Standing up, he wobbly walked over to the kneeling woman and climbed into her lap and hugged her tightly. Yukina smiled warmly and returned the gesture, embracing the smaller one. Hiei let out a sigh and his smile returned. The door slid open and their attention was directed to you as you entered the room.

"Hello Yukina. How is Hiei?" you question sitting in front of them.

You saw how happy Hiei looked and it made you feel good.

"Today has been wonderful! I have had so much fun with Hiei. I don't remember the last time I have laughed so much!" she replied, beaming with happiness.

"I am so glad to hear that."

"I suppose, I should give him back now," spoke Yukina.

Hiei let out a disgruntled huff.

Yukina looked down, "What is the matter little one? I thought that you would want to go back with her."

Hiei frowned and shook his head.

"Come now, you have to go with her, now be good…" Yukina tried to reason.

"Noah!" screamed the baby as he was handed to you.

"Hiei, what is wrong? Why are you so mad with me?" you ask, feeling hurt.

Through his screams and cries, Hiei fought with you, pushing and squirming. You didn't understand his reaction, but tried to hold onto him. Finally, when it seemed like he was going to cooperate, he looked you in the eye and with his right arm, slapped you in the face. You should have been furious, but you weren't. It didn't hurt you physically, but emotionally, there could be no greater blow. Hiei knew he hurt you, but he did the unthinkable and smiled, even though it hurt him more.

"Hiei! How could you do such a thing?!" cried Yukina.

You hand the child back to Yukina.

"Would you mind watching him for a little longer? He has made it clear that he no longer wants me around and I don't want to force him to stay." you ask in almost a whisper, feeling your eyes burn with tears

"Of course, but…"

She was about to dispute it when there was a tapping on the door. Already standing, you slide it open to see a reddened Kurama, face wet with tears, sniffling.

"Pwease…~sniffle~ Can I see you fora moment? ~sniffle~" Kurama managed out in between cries.

"Sure, I was just leaving," you respond coldly, leaving the room with the sad fox.

The door slammed shut. Yukina was about to scold the baby when he just broke down. He clung to Yukina and just let loose. He didn't care if she thought less of him, he couldn't control it. The tears just kept coming and for once, he didn't fight them off. Yukina, stunned, did her best to soothe the baby's sobs.

"There is something going on here that I am not aware of. I will find out what's wrong soon." thought Yukina as she focused on holding and calming the child.

Numbly, you walked down the hall holding onto Kurama's hand. He took a few more steps and then stopped. He was going to explain, when he immediately burst into more tears. You figured he needed to be changed and was ashamed. Seeing this, you put your own pain aside and try to center your attention on Kurama. You grab the fox and pick him up, but continue walking. You had to get away from there, if you were going to do anything right. Walking back to your room, you pass by Yusuke and Kuwabara. Hearing Kurama's cries, Yusuke follows you.

"Hey is he alright?" he asks sincerely.

You turn around and he straight away sees that you are also on the brink of tears.

"Oh, man, what's going on?" continued Kuwabara.

"Nothing," you mumble as you rock and bounce the youngster in an attempt to console him, "Kurama's fine, don't worry. I just have to change him, that's all."

Kurama even more embarrassed buries his crying face into your hair.

"Wow, I never seen him like that ever," remarked Kuwabara.

"It's not their fault. They are not responsible for what they do while in this form…" you whisper and continue to your room.

"Hey!"

Again you face Yusuke.

"We need to talk," he stated simply.

You nod and proceed to your room upstairs. By the time you are there, Kurama has regained some control and is only sniveling and whimpering. You set him down and try not to look upset, so you fake a smile. Gingerly, you begin to untie and remove Kurama's robe. He was soon in only his diaper.

"I didn't want too…but dey kept tickling me and when I begged dem to stop, dey laufed at me." sniffled Kurama.

You nod and reach out for the child. Embracing him seemed to work. Kurama was very different from Hiei, even as a child, you decided. He was almost human in his constant need for contact. Growing up with his mother must have made him this way. Touch was an important sense for him, and without it, Kurama became depressed. A part of him may never admit it, but even as a kitsune, he probably always needed at least one other person around him in order to survive.

Letting him go, he was quiet and laid down. You went to your bag and searched around for supplies noting that you would need to return to your apartment soon, not having adequate provisions to remain her much longer. You untapped his diaper, cleaned him with wipes, and re-diapered him quickly. Kurama looked a little disappointed to be re-diapered, but didn't say anything when prompted to raise his bottom. Instead of dressing him, you went and got a blanket and picked up Kurama. You chose a spot to sit at and cradled Kurama to your chest and covered him with the blanket. Kurama was going to question what was going on, but decided that he did indeed enjoy this feeling and chose to snuggle deeper into you. You rest your head back and close your eyes as you gently rub Kurama's warm skin. Every once in a while, the boy let a sniffle escape him, but shortly he was nearing slumber. He looked at peace and you studied the soft features of his face while he slept. Turning your head away, you tried to wash the pain away, but knowing that no one could see you, you closed your eyes and let the tears seep through your lashes. The world went blurry, but through your muffled sobs, you heard a tapping at the door. You didn't respond, but the person walked in.

"Yusuke, what is it?" you ask, quickly wiping your face with your sleeve.

"You tell me kid." Responded the spirit detective as he leaned casually on the wall, "You know it's a real coincidence that right after I saw you in the hall, Yukina came with Hiei screaming and crying too."

"I don't see where this is going…"

"Hiei did this to you?" he asked flicking back a few strands of defiant hair back to their gelled position.

You hesitate to answer, "… No. I did this to me."

"You know Keiko and the others are creating a schedule, so you won't be the only one responsible for them."

You fake a smile, "I guess that would be nice, but I don't think Kurama wants to go with the girls again after they attacked him."

Yusuke laughed, "Yeah well, you know how they can be when their radars go off. Either way, you won't have to care for Hiei all the time."

"I know…. And I suppose that it is for the best."

Yusuke came closer to you and crouched in front of your body. With a single hand, he peered at the covered child and swiped away velvet bangs to produce a clear presentation of the child's face.

"Hey, fox boy, I woulda' never expected that out of all of us, you were the one to willing fall into a trap." For a moment it seemed like Yusuke's eyes became softer, "It won't be much longer till your back to how you were, but try to relax and enjoy the vacation."

Yusuke look up at you and smiled. You returned the gesture.

"Your eyes are all red now," mocked Yusuke, "Don't you realize that you're much too pretty to be crying."

"…I wasn't crying… I was just…" you tried to explain.

Yusuke stood up, "If you need me, you know where to find me, but for now I have to teach Kuwabara the right way to win a drinking game."

"Isn't a little early to be drinking?"

"Yeah well, real drinkers can't tell time, so there." Replied a smug Yusuke as he left the room.

You couldn't hold back a small smile at this. Mentally, he and Kuwabara were as childish and young as Kurama and Hiei's current age. Taking in a deep breath, you decided that it would be best to return to home with only Kurama, until things are sorted out. Taking the child, you wrap his limp body in the blanket and manage to stand on your feet, cradling him in your arms. With a free arm, you attempt to sift through your belongings, dividing them into two piles. In your bag, you pack the clothing that Yukina had given Kurama and various other things that you carried and in the other pile were the rest of the items the Hiei's caretaker would need. Leaving a nice pile behind, you hang your satchel onto your shoulder and place Kurama back into the more comfortable position with the blanket securely wrapped around him. You make your way out of the room and through the hallways until you meet up with Master Genkai, who is in her usual spot with some tea and a newspaper.

"Pardon me Master Genkai, but I was wondering if…"

"Yeah, we'll watch the little twerp," Interjected Genkai, setting the paper down.

"Thank you. I left some things in my room for him and if you would like I could bring you some more in the morning or you could have Yusuke or Kuwabara retrieve them if they are not too drunk," you speak, trying to not stir Kurama.

"Do you want someone to escort you home?" questioned the pink haired woman.

"No, I think that I will be fine on my own." You don't wait for any more questions as you bow and make your way, exiting the temple.

Proceeding down the many stairs at the entrance, you tighten your grasp on Kurama and smile when you notice that even now in his state, he still smells of roses. He remained asleep for the entire journey back. Entering your empty apartment, you kind of took everything in. No Hiei. No Kurama there to help you. You were back to where you had started except this time; you had a different person to care for. You carry the child into your room and consider putting him in your bed, but after thinking about how strange that may be for Kurama, considering he was more aware of the customs of humans, you decide against it and place him gently into his old crib, realizing the irony of it all. Even then he did not wake, but curled into a tighter ball. Having nothing else to do with the child asleep, you settle on preparing a collection of things for Hiei to be sent tomorrow morning and then focusing on what clothing Kurama could wear. He was taller then Hiei, but very thin, so he might fit into some of Hiei's bigger clothes, but you scavenge your own closet and the clothing Yukina had left you for something that could be modified. You settle on another kimono, considering that it is the only item that can have its size altered. Taking a dark blue one that belonged to you, you cut the extra fabric very short and trim off some of the sleeves. You quickly stitch up the hems so that it looks better and you set it aside half done, a little tired and restless. Standing, you walk to the kitchen and put a kettle of water onto the stove. Only after having some tea were you able to notice just how late it was. Thankfully, Kurama had gone shopping before he left for demon world, so you did have supplies and food to cook. You easily make some white rice and cook some fish after you pull out the bones.

"I doubt that my cooking is anything like Kurama's but I guess I should be happy considering it isn't burnt black." You say to yourself.

Kurama, just stirring from his sleep after being there for a couple of hours, lets out a yawn and brings himself to sit up. Looking around, he is taken back by the nostalgic settings and notices that he is no longer at Genkai's Temple. He quickly checks himself and is relieved to find out that he is still dry. He easily pulls himself into a standing position, using the bars of the crib to hold onto. He reflects on whether he should climb out, but after judging the height, he puts the thought aside.

You quietly walk into the room and are surprised to hear Kurama call out your name. You turn to face him and walk over to pick up the child.

"Good morning little one, or well at this hour it's more like good night. How are you feeling?" you pat the boy's padded bottom as he sits on your hip.

"Um…bewter now." Kurama responds with a smile.

"I made some dinner, are you hungry?"

The boy eagerly nods his head and you carry him into the small kitchen dressed as he was in only a diaper. You sit him at the table, where you have already placed his food. The child doesn't hesitate and begins eating the cut up fish with his fingers enthusiastically. You begin to eat your food as well. Soon all of Kurama's fish is gone, but he is having problems eating the rice with his fingers. You pull his chair closer to you and with your utensils, you scoop up some rice and hold it up the boys face. He looks confused for a moment.

"Open up wide" you comment and he does as you ask.

You continue to feed Kurama like this until his bowl is empty.

"Would you like more?" you ask and the child blushes.

You take this as a yes and start to feed him some of your fish until he will take no more. He lets a content sigh out and thanks you for the meal. You clear off the dishes and push his glass of juice closer so that he could reach it. Taking the tall glass in both hands, the fox tries to raise it to his mouth. Instead, he ends up pouring it onto himself. Feeling the cold sensation of the juice, he is caught off guard and drops the glass. It hits the ground and smashes into smaller pieces. The combination of failure and the loud noise puts the toddler in tears again.

"Kurama, don't worry about it. It's my fault for giving you this kind of glass." You try to calm him as you clean up the glass off the floor and then wiping the food and juice from the boy's face. Thinking, you swiftly turn and open the cabinet where Hiei's food and formula were stored. You take a bottle out, wash it, and with the tip of a knife, you make the hole at the end of the nipple a tiny bit bigger. You fill it with some more juice and twist on the lid. You set the bottle on the table for Kurama and he frowns at it.

"I know that it's Hiei's bottle, but it will be easier for you to drink from this than any of the other glasses.

Defeated, Kurama slides off the chair and starts to walk away. You scoop him up under the arms and place him over your shoulder. Taking the bottle in your other hand, you go and sit on the couch, putting him in your lap. You were about to hand the bottle to him when.

"Pwease, stop it! I am not a baby!" he yells.

"Kurama, I know that it's just…." You look him in the eye and he lets out a little growl.

"No, fiwst you wash me, and den you put me in diapewrs and den you put me in my cwib, and den you feed me and now you want to make me dwink wif a bottle. I'm not wike Hiei. I'm not a baby." His face was red with embarrassment, "I'm not a baby, I'm just smawer den I was before."

He slides off your lap and waddles away, upset.

"Maybe he just wants some space," you think, "But this is how it is for now and he has to accept it until it changes. He is old enough to know that and I think he does, he is just acting up like Hiei did; Kurama's first tantrum, probably not his last."

Letting out a sigh, you stand up and follow where he went. You cannot find him until you enter your closet and see the child kneeling near the pile of half sewn clothes. He's holding the half finished blue kimono when he looks up and sees you, standing in the door way. The anger was almost completely gone from his face.

"…Dis was yours…why did you cut it up?" he questions, letting go of the fabric.

"Um, well, I bought that when I was younger and lived by myself in Okinawa. I cut it so that you would have something to where until I could take you to a store and buy you proper clothing. I didn't want to take you there wearing only a diaper." You reply honestly as you hang up the clothing.

"But, dis was yours…" he started.

"I thought that you would need it more."

"No! I didn't want dis all to happen, but now it did and I am no more den a bofersome baby!" cried Kurama, holding his head in his hands, "I didn't want to become this… I didn't want this."

You took the crying toddler and pulled him to his feet. Taking his hand, you lead him to the bathroom and stood him on the counter.

"Look." You command.

Kurama picks up his head and stares at his reflection, sick to see himself like this for the first time after this transformation.

"Tell me what you see." You request.

"I onwy see a helpwess child who is too much of a burden and doesn't deserve you compassion becawse I get angwy for how I am!"

"Fine, well I see Kurama. The same Kurama that I met a few years ago. The person with a double life who intentionally tries to help others even if is compromises himself. Who is constantly thinking of others. I don't think that you are a baby, I think of you as simply Kurama. You will always be Kurama, regardless of how you look on the outside. I have already told you this; maybe you'll see it now."

"Den why do I feel like a baby, I can't control anyfing, and I have to be tweated like a baby," asked Kurama touching the mirror.

"None of that matters. The only things that should count are what is in here and here." You say as you point to his brain and to his heart.

"So den it doesn't matter how I act or what happens cause I'm not a baby as wong as I am Kuwama on da insides?"

You nod. "If I were to treat you like Kuwabara, would that make you Kuwabara?"

The child shook his head no.

"Then this is the same. I don't want to treat you like this, but you and I have no other choice. It's hard, but you have to accept it. But no matter what you are still Kurama."

"But what will da others say?"

"I told you that if anyone has a problem, I'll just have to beat them up. Problem solved. Now no more crying. All of this time, you lectured Hiei and here you cannot take the same lesson."

Kurama nodded, turned away from the mirror and hugged you, "Can I have some juice pwease?"

You say yes and take him back to the couch. This time you place him next to you. You were going to try to take the nipple off to use the bottle as a plastic cup, but Kurama grabbed the bottle from your hand. With one arm wrapped around the bottle, he climbed back into your lap, sat down, and asked you to teach him.

"Well, this is the same as this morning, except there it's not attached to me. You have to hold the bottle up like this or you will only get air and that will make your stomach hurt from gas." You reply.

Kurama listened and then laid down in your lap and held his mouth open like he did this morning. You thought that Kurama would want to do it himself, but this way would be easier. You take the bottle from him and placed the nipple in his mouth. This time, he easily latched on and was soon drinking the contents of the bottle. You looked on and smiled thinking about how cute he looked drinking from a bottle wearing only a diaper; No wonder Botan and Keiko couldn't resist. Kurama didn't notice your stares because he was too occupied enjoying his juice. Soon he was suckling on an empty bottle and you had to pull it out of his mouth. Kurama looked hurt.

"You can't nurse from an empty bottle, I told you it would make your stomach hurt," You answer, putting the bottle aside.

"I don't care about dat. Oh, I know! You can get more juice." Spoke Kurama.

"No more, you've had enough."

"Pwease."

You shook your head. The fox let out a little huff, but didn't argue. Picking him up, you carry him to Hiei's drawers of baby things and pulled one open. Reaching in, you easily found what you were looking for.

"Close your eyes and open your mouth."

Kurama, thinking that you were going to give him more juice, complied. You inserted it into his mouth and he began to suckle, but no matter how much or hard he sucked, nothing came. He opened his eyes and frowned. He pulled out the pacifier and looked up at your smirking face. He was going to complain, but changed his mind and replaced the pacifier and continued.

"Wow, I guess children really like this thing," You thought to yourself, "First Hiei, now Kurama. I wonder if they will continue to use it when they are back to normal."

You returned and reclined on the couch with Kurama lying tummy down on your chest. With one hand, you play with some strands of his hair; the other gently rubbed his back. It was very pleasant like this and you remain so for much time. Kurama fought to keep his eyes open and you silently watched on. You pulled all of his hair out of his face and smiled.

"At your age, you almost look female, you know?" you smirked, "then again, you did at your normal age too…".

"Don't add insult to injuwy," muttered Kurama closing his eyes.

Holding onto him, you stand and he wraps his arms around your neck. When he sees his crib come into view he tightens his grip on you.

"…noooooo…." He mutters, letting the pacifier fall.

"Come on, it is very late and you should have been asleep hours ago." You comment holding onto the object.

"But, I'm not sweepy…" retorted the fox.

"Liar," you reply as you place him into the crib.

He stands up and you leave the room only to return with a bottle with some water inside. You put it into the crib and pull out the blankets. Coercing the child to lay down, you cocoon him with a couple of blankets to compensate for the lack of pajamas. You tuck everything under him and place the pacifier between his lips. He opens and welcomes the comforting object. Instead of retiring to your own bed, you just stand there, leaning on the bars, watching Kurama fall out of consciousness.

"…uud-ight.."

You pull out the pacifier.

"I said good night," repeated Kurama.

"Oh," you smile, "good night Kurama."

Bending over the bars, you peck the exposed skin of his forehead. You don't know what compelled you to do so. His eyes open and his face blushes a deep crimson. Smiling, you undress and leave your clothes at the foot of the bed and climb under your covers. You sigh when you realize that faint traces of Hiei's scent can be found in the fabric. You sit up and throw the blankets aside, deciding that you'll sleep on the couch in the other room tonight. You make yourself comfortable on the couch and let your body un-tighten itself. You pick up the unfinished novel on the coffee table and begin to page through it, reading until the words become unclear. Sleep finally overtakes you hours later, and the book falls out of your grasp, to the floor.

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"Keiko, this cannot be right. You've scheduled yourself to watch over Hiei for the next two weeks only giving me and Yukina an hour on the weekends!" cried Botan holding various sheets of paper in her hands.

"Yeah, I know. I think I might shorten that to only a half hour too!" smiled Keiko holding a sleeping Hiei in her arms.

"I would like to spend more time with Hiei as well," commented Yukina.

"You can have him tonight and tomorrow. I'll take him the next two days and Botan can have him the two days that follow," proposed Keiko.

"Agreed… hey wait! Why am I last?" countered Botan.

"Reverse alphabetical order!" laughed Keiko.

"That's not fair, how about regular alphabetical order?" complained Botan.

"I think it's fine," giggled Yukina.

"Me too," agreed the human.

"I demand a re-do!" moaned the sad ferry girl.

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Kurama's eyes opened slowly. Sitting up, he looked around the dark room. It was still night time. He was just about to wonder why he woken up when the sensation hit him again.

"Oh no…" muttered Kurama.

He fought to free himself from all of the blankets wrapped around his body. The more he struggled, the tighter they became. After finally pulling them off, he stood up. Leaning over the bars, he called out your name in the darkness. No reply.

"She is probably still asleep. It would be wrong for me to wake her over something like this," thought the fox.

He peered over the edge. Being so dark, he could no longer distinguish how high up he was from the floor below. He called out your name to the near by bed one more time but did not receive any response. Taking it as a sign, Kurama poised his leg over the main bar. Managing to climb over, Kurama was planning to lower himself down, but his other foot got caught over the bar and he fell with a thud.

If the thump hadn't woken you up first, the screams would have. Jumping off the couch still undressed, you sprang to the other room and jumped, clearing your bed in one bound. Turning on the lights, your chest tightened when you saw Kurama lying on the floor, screaming, and bleeding. You cautiously scooped up the child and placed him onto your bed. You ran to the bathroom and retrieved the first aid kit. Seeing him like this was almost too much pain to bear.

"Kurama! What Happened? How did you hurt yourself?" You scream.

"I fell down! Whaaaaaaa… I try to climb out to go potty, but den I fell. Whaaa!" screamed the red head.

You gave him a full examination, starting with his head, checking for any bumps or places where it might have hit the ground. Next, you checked his spine to make sure that it was not injured. Both legs were not broken and neither were his arms. The only visible injury was a large scrape on the inside of his left hand and a small bump on his head. You let out a very relieved sigh to see that he was in no major danger. You take the crying child and the medical supplies into the kitchen. Now that you knew it was only a cut, you tried to stop his cries.

"Shhhhh, come on Kurama, everything is fine. It's okay, it's okay," you repeat over and over again.

Kurama wouldn't listen and focused on looking at the blood coming out of him. You turn the child's head away, knowing the he was shrieking more out of fear then pain.

"You're going to be okay Kurama, calm down. Your letting your toddler control your reaction. Use your logic."

At last, after ten minutes of pacing with the child in your arms, he stopped screaming and was only crying. You place the frightened fox onto the table and begin to treat the wound. You tried to wipe off some of the blood, but Kurama kept rocking back and forth.

"Kurama, stay still. I can't see what I'm doing." You complain.

"~sniffle~ But… I still have to go potty…~sniffle~" wept the child.

"Just pee in the diaper, this is more important," you speak.

"Nooo…I no gotta pee!" he protested, trying to stand up.

"Kurama, sit down!" you yell as slap his bottom.

He did as he was told but kept rocking back and forth, trying to avoid the inevitable.

"Stay still or I won't be able to finish." You complain.

Taking some alcohol, you clean the cut and Kurama howls with pain. You continue to treat the wound and are able to successfully stop the bleeding and wrap his hand with linen bandages. Kurama is forced to give in and is devastated; having soiled himself for the third time that day was bad, but having to intentionally do it was worse. After having his hand treated he fought to stand up. You put him back onto the ground and he waddles back to the other room, disgusted with himself, crying louder then before. The mushy feeling was not something he could stand and the feeling only got worse when he walked. You clean up the bloody gauze and replace everything back into the first aid kit before you put the kettle back onto the stove. It was going to be a long night and the caffeine in coffee was the only thing there to keep you awake. Taking your cup into the study you see Kurama leaning onto the couch sobbing so much that his little body shook.

You pet his head, "How about we clean you up?"

Kurama nods his head, still crying.

"Go and wait for me in the bathroom, honey."

He waddles off and you take a large sip of coffee before putting on the robe in your bedroom to cover yourself. You collect a few things before you make your way to the bathroom. You turn on the lights to see a still crying Kurama. You lay down a mat and spread out everything you need before you call him to come near. Before he lies down, you turn him around and gather up his hair, using your hair tie to put it into a loose ponytail. You let him lie down and begin. Un-tapping the tabs of the diaper and pulling the front away filled the room with the smell. Kurama continued to sob, embarrassed. Pulling his legs up, you did your best to clean most of it off of him before you wrapped up the diaper and discarded it in the trash. You walk him over to the bath and quickly bathe him, not allowing him to get his hand wet. You cover him with a towel when you are done and bring him to the bedroom. You place him onto the bed and rub his skin with some baby lotion before you prepare to diaper him. Tears still pour from his face, but you focus on your work. You decide to dress him in a small sized t-shirt, which on his body looks more like a dress being so long. You leave him on the bed and put everything away. Lastly, you get the pacifier from his crib and pick up Kurama. You sit him on your hip and pace the room, not saying anything, but gently rocking him. Eventually he quiets down but hiccups and sniffles the way most children do after crying. You put the pacifier in his mouth and after another few minutes, he is totally silent; resting his head on your shoulder, quietly sucking the pacifier. Placing him onto the ground, you sat in front of him.

"Are you alright now?" you ask trying to keep eye contact.

Kurama won't look at you, but nods anyway.

You continued to talk, "I know that you are mad and, Kurama, that's ok, but I want you to fully understand that I am always worried about you. I really though I lost you in the Makkai and I don't know what I would have done if that did happen. Today, you really had me frightened."

Grasping his hands, you manage to get his attention, "Kurama, I'm relieved that you are okay, but what you did tonight and what you did then were foolish."

His face went from oblivious to irritated, but you continued, "What if you had gotten seriously hurt? What would you have done if you were mortally injured and no one was there to help? You're not immune to things like this. Please, it's not worth risking your safety for something that is insignificant or on ideas that have not been thought through."

Kurama stared at you and for a split second, you saw his eyes; the way that they were before he changed; aged and ancient. He took a step forward and with both of his small hands, he cradled your face, pulling it closer to him. He then did something you didn't expect; he brought his face to yours and kissed your cheek. It was brief and he put the pacifier back in, but it had so much meaning to it that it made your eyes begin to burn. You pulled him into a deep hug, happy that he was ok and even happier for the proof that this was still Kurama. But as special as that moment was, you had a thought in the back of your mind that ruined it: You really wish that Hiei would have done that. It hurt to think about him, but you were worried for him too. Trying not to focus on it all, you remember to release the toddler from your embrace.

Kurama removed his paci and said, "I'm tiwerd…"

"I know, but I can't let you sleep for a couple of hours to make sure that you have no head injuries. If you had a concussion and you fell asleep, you could slip into a coma."

"…oh…" he replaced the pacifier.

You took to your feet and walked over to your desk. Fiddling through things, you are able to get what you intended and return to the child.

"Here, you can draw and color with these," you offer him the supplies.

He nods and starts to scribble over the white pages on the floor without much thought. You simply watch him until he is no longer amused with it and stands up and walks away. You collect the drawings and secretly put them in your desk. Kurama wonders to the couch and tries to pull himself up and onto it. You help him the rest of the way up and he waits for you to join him. You look for the remote before sitting and turn the medium sized television on the wall on. TV was definitely something that you just never were accustomed to using. It came with the apartment, but you rarely ever had it on. Sliding the remote to the child next to you, you allow him to go through some channels. Eventually, his head slumps to the side and the remote falls from his grasp. You shake the child and he wakes up startled.

"Stay with me Kurama, it's only a half hour more."

He nods, but allows his head to fall again. You rise and pick him up, which he doesn't refuse, and carry him throughout the apartment. You shake him ever so often to make sure he's awake.

Taking out the pacifier, you say, "Kurama."

"…Huh?"

"What is my name?" you question.

He looks confused but answers by saying your name.

"And what is your name?" You continue.

"My name is Kuwama."

"And what was you favorite subject in school?"

"Botany."

"What type of demon are you?"

"I'm kitsune."

"And how old are you?"

"Reewy old."

"And what's your mother's name?"

"Okassan? Her name is Shori."

Your questions continued for twenty minutes more and you had to fight to keep Kurama answering them, but it was the only way you could think to keep him awake. After the time had passed, you decided that it was safe for him to sleep again. You put his pacifier back in his mouth and took him to your bed. Covering him with a blanket from the crib, you lay him on you chest, the way you had previously done on the couch, this time covering him with your blanket as well. His head rested on your breast and his arms curled up around. You look to the window and see the first rays of light beginning to brighten the sky so you let out a sigh and close your eyes. Another day has passed, and yet somehow the sun is able to rise again.

~~cue end theme!~~


End file.
